El Medano Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let me lay it out for you straight, no sugar-coating.

Look, this entire 16-day window is about as flat as a millpond for any kind of proper surf. You'd be better off taking up golf. The only break on offer here is El Medano, and honestly, it is a tough sell. It's a beach and reef setup that rarely breaks, and when it does, the conditions have to be absolutely perfect. We get a tiny little pulse of SSW swell, but the winds are just wrong for it most of the time.

The water is sitting at 72°F, which is about average for this time of year, so at least you won't freeze.

Let's start at the beginning. Saturday morning, the 4th of July. We have a weak 1.0 ft swell rolling in from the SSW, period is a short 14 seconds. The combined swell energy is a measly 73, so it’s weak. The wind is light SW, cross-offshore, which is okay, so the waves are clean but tiny. It's surfable, but not worth the paddle.

Sunday morning the 5th is much the same story, with 1.0 ft swell and clean conditions. By Sunday afternoon, the wind swings SE, turning cross-onshore, and the wave quality drops out completely. From Monday the 6th right through to Wednesday the 8th, it's mostly small and cross-onshore, keeping things poor. There is a brief moment on Wednesday morning and afternoon, the 8th, where the wind goes glassy, absolutely zero wind, and the water is smooth. The swell is still just 1.0 ft from the SSW with a very long period of 16 seconds, and energy is 78-94 (weak). It would be a pretty, calm paddle, but you are fighting a tiny, slow-moving wave that will be hard to ride.

Then from Thursday the 9th of July, things get weird. The swell direction shifts to NE, and the period drops to a dismal 6 seconds – pure wind chop. The size bumps up a bit, hitting 3 ft to 4 ft, but the energy is still moderate at 119-125. The onshore wind is relentless, making it choppy and lumpy. By Friday the 10th, the wind gets even stronger, hitting 22 mph from the ENE and the swell is 6 ft with 319 energy. This is not surfing; it’s a battle against messy, blown-out junk. For an expert, maybe there's a close-out, but for anyone else, it’s a skip.

The second week is a write-off. From the 11th of July onward, the wind is howling from the NE and ENE, usually a fresh to strong breeze, ramping up past 28 mph. The combined swell energy sometimes spikes into the strong range, like 589 or 560, but it’s all wind-generated junk. The swell heights fluctuate between 2 ft and 6 ft, but the wave comment is "poor surf conditions" for every single session from the 5th of July onwards. It is a solid 14-day dry spell.

There is no standout option here. The best of a bad bunch is Wednesday the 8th of July morning, but even that is only a 1/10. For the rest, this setup with the strong onshores and poor quality is honestly more interesting for kite surfing than for a proper surf.

Rusty.

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