El Medano Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty.

I’ve taken a good, hard look at what’s on offer here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough run. We’re looking at El Medano, a beach and reef setup on the southern coast, and it’s about as close to a flat spell as you can get without the water being a mirror. The water is sitting at 75°, which is about normal for this time of year, so that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.

The issue is the wind. For the entire 16-day window, we’ve got a relentless cross-onshore breeze blowing from the ENE and NE. It starts at a light 3 mph on the first Tuesday morning, but by the afternoon it’s already up and it never really gives us a proper rest. The swell is tiny, the kind of bump you’d barely notice, and the energy is just not there. The first few days show a combined swell energy hovering around 200 to 400 (moderate range), but with a swell height of just 2ft to 3ft coming from the SSW, it’s being shredded by the wind. The wave comment for every single session is “poor surf conditions” and the score is a flat zero. There’s nothing to get excited about.

The situation doesn’t improve. From Tuesday the 18th right through to the end of the month, every morning and afternoon is a repeat of the same story. The swell direction shifts around a bit – from SSW to NE and back – but the heights stay below 5ft, and the periods are a mix of short and long. When the period jumps to 16 seconds for a couple of days, it’s still only 2ft to 3ft of swell, which is basically a non-event with that wind. The combined energy even drops into the double digits (67, 49, 75) on a few days, which is a sign of very weak wave energy. On the 30th of August, the period spikes to 18 seconds, a very long period groundswell, but it’s only 1ft high and the wind is a fresh 19 mph. That’s the kind of setup that would be interesting only if you were a kite surfer, because for a paddle surfer, it’s just a choppy, lumpy mess. The break is “rarely breaks” too, so this kind of blank run isn’t a total shock for the area.

The only glimmer, and I mean a tiny one, is on the afternoon of the 30th of August. The swell direction swings back to SSW with a very long 18-second period. The height is only 1ft, but if the wind were to lay down, that long-period energy could wrap in. But the wind is forecast to be a fresh cross-onshore, so it’s a write-off. The 31st of August and the 1st of September sees a similar pattern, with a little more height (2ft) and a 15-second period, but the wind is still 16 to 19 mph. It’s all just a “no.”

Honestly, there’s no standout session here. Not one. The best you could hope for is the very first morning, Tuesday the 18th, when the wind is lightest, but the swell is tiny and the wave quality is still poor. For a surfer, this is a week to wax the car, not the board. The setup is far more interesting for kite surfing given the strong, consistent wind and the poor surf quality. Keep an eye on the forecasts, because it tends not to stay this poor for long, but for now, the ocean is just not playing ball.

Rusty.

Read more