El Huaico Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the forecast for El Huaico over the next couple of weeks is a tough one to get excited about. This is a reef break for advanced surfers only, and it’s very consistent, which usually means waves, but the quality just isn’t coming together. The water’s sitting at a very unusual 69°, a massive 8° warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won’t need a thick suit, but you will need patience.

We kick off on Friday the 11th of September with the best we’re going to see, and honestly, it’s still a marginal call. Friday morning offers up a 6ft south swell, period of 8 seconds, with a cross-onshore breeze from the WSW at 6 mph. The combined swell energy is moderate at 775, but it’s a short-period wind swell, not the good stuff, and the wind is making it little bumpy. It’s not a total write-off, but it’s not pretty either. Friday afternoon drops off with stronger cross-onshore winds, and by Saturday the 12th, the swell is down to 5ft and clean on Saturday morning with the wind going light onshore from the west, but the score is so low it’s barely worth paddling out.

From Sunday the 13th right through the middle of the following week, the story stays the same: little bumps of swell in the 3ft to 4ft range, but the period is either short or long. On Monday the 14th, we get a pulse of very long-period groundswell from the southwest at 17-18 seconds, but the height is only 3ft. At a reef like El Huaico, long-period groundswell can wrap in nicely, but it’s just too small to do anything with. The combined energy is still moderate (around 764), but you’re looking at knee-high dribble with a cross-onshore breeze. Not worth getting wet for.

By Tuesday the 15th, the same long-period southwest swell lingers at 4ft, but again, the wind isn't clean and the surf quality is marked as marginal at best. The rest of that week, Wednesday the 16th through Friday the 18th, is a slow fade into smaller, weaker swell with combined energy dropping into the 300s. There’s a gap here of several days where nothing is recommendable.

The weekend of the 19th and 20th of September shows a little pulse of short-period swell returning, with the 20th bringing a 4ft to 5ft south-southwest swell with a period of just 7 seconds. That’s wind swell, short and weak, and the energy is only moderate (568). Sunday the 20th morning has light cross-onshore wind, so it’s possibly the least terrible option of the whole run, but calling it a standout would be a stretch. After that, the final week from the 21st to the 26th is a slow bleed of small, weak, and often poor surf. A tiny 1ft southwest groundswell on the 25th with a 20-second period is the very definition of a tease – long-period energy with zero push.

If you really want to surf at El Huaico, the one window to bother with is Friday morning the 11th of September – it’s the biggest swell, and it’s not much for beginners anyway. For the rest, this set-up with persistent onshore or cross-onshore wind and short-period swell looks far more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer.

Rusty.

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