El Muelle Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

Honestly, the next couple of weeks are a bit of a grind. The swell’s around, but it’s mostly short-period, wind-blown slop coming straight out of the north – and that’s exactly the wrong direction for El Muelle. We’ve got a solid run of poor surf conditions stretching from Friday, August 7th, all the way through the first week. The waves are there, but they’re messy, with a strong north wind pushing everything flat and choppy. The water’s a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s one small comfort.

For the first few days, we’re looking at 2ft to 4ft of onshore junk, with periods barely scraping 8 seconds at best. The combined energy is weak to moderate, floating around 132 to 212, but it doesn’t matter much when the wind’s ruining every face. It’s not a total washout, but you’d be fighting an uphill battle for a grovelly one.

The middle of the week doesn’t get any better. The swell holds around 3ft to 4ft, but the period drops to 6-7 seconds and the north breeze stays locked in. The energy numbers dip and climb a bit, but the quality is the same story – poor. This is a stretch where you’re better off doing something else.

Now, there is a slight light at the end of the tunnel. As we get into the second week, around August 15th and 16th, the swell pushes up a touch, hitting 4ft, and the period comes back to 7 seconds. Still short, but the energy builds into the 200s, and the wind eases off a little. It’s not firing, but it’s less terrible. Then, by August 18th and 19th, we see the swell bump to 4-5ft, and the morning winds finally drop to a gentle breeze. That’s about the best we get, and it’s still only a 3/5 set-up.

The real standout – and I’m using that term loosely – is the morning of Wednesday, August 19th. You’ve got 4ft of north swell, the wind drops to 10 mph, and for a few hours, it might actually line up a bit cleaner before the cross-onshore kicks in by the afternoon. The energy is moderate at 181, and the period is still short, but it’s the least bad option we have.

After that, it fades back down into the 3ft range with light winds but weak energy (around 107-139). The last few days of the run, August 21st and 22nd, see the period stretch back to 9 seconds, which is a hint of better shape, but the swell is small and the winds are starting to pick up again.

So, the bottom line: there’s no proper gem in this window. If you’re desperate, the morning of the 19th is your best bet, but keep the expectations low. It’s not a blank run, but it’s a battle for every average wave.

Rusty.

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