El Muelle Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for El Muelle, this beach/pier setup. The forecast starts with a real quiet patch, then slowly builds to a couple of promising windows, but there’s plenty of messy stuff to wade through first.

We kick off on Wednesday the 2nd of September with nothing to get excited about – tiny 2ft ENE swell at 8 seconds, weak energy (121), and cloudy. The wind is a cross-offshore from the north at 9 mph, so it’s clean, but there’s just no push. That same small, short-period swell sticks around into Thursday, still under 3ft, and while the morning’s clean, the energy is only moderate (145). Thursday arvo gets a bit more juice with 3ft at 10 seconds and energy climbing to 268, but wind swings cross-shore from the southwest at 22 mph, making it lumpy. Not worth paddling out.

Friday the 4th sees a jump in size – 5ft SSW swell in the morning, but the period is a short 7 seconds, and the wind is a cross-offshore from the WSW at 12 mph, keeping it clean. The energy is moderate (300), but the forecast says “marginal.” That arvo drops to 4ft and even shorter period (6 seconds), with cross-shore wind and chop. Still not great.

Then Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th get a bit of a pulse from the south, with 5ft to 8ft S swell, period around 9 seconds, but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore from the SSE, blowing 15 to 22 mph. Energy jumps to strong levels (469–1112), but it’s choppy, lumpy, and messy. The 8ft on Sunday morning is too big for beginners, but with that onshore wind, only experts would even consider it, and even then it’s poor.

Now, Monday the 7th is the first real standout. Morning brings a 5ft SE swell with a 10-second period, moderate energy (635), and a light WNW cross-offshore breeze at 6 mph – glassy and clean. The forecast says “expect very good surf conditions.” This is the best on offer in the first week. The swell direction from the SE is a bit off the optimum SSE for this spot, but the size and clean conditions make it work. The afternoon gets cross-on and choppy, so hit it early.

Tuesday the 8th drops back to 3ft SE swell, energy down to 238, but the morning is clean with a cross-offshore NNE breeze at 12 mph. It’s marginal but rideable. After that, from Wednesday the 9th through to Thursday the 10th, it’s tiny again – under 4ft, short periods, and mostly cross or offshore winds, but the energy is weak (73–104). Nothing to bother with.

The second week has a real wildcard. Friday the 11th starts with a 6ft SW swell at 6 seconds, moderate energy (433), and a clean cross-offshore W wind at 12 mph. But the afternoon is where it gets interesting: a 10ft SSW swell with a 10-second period, huge energy (1754), and a cross-shore SW wind at 15 mph. The forecast says it’s too big for this break, and the wind is cross-shore, so it’ll be a challenging, expert-only affair. That’s a standout for the brave, but it’s heavy and not for everyone.

Saturday the 12th still has solid 7–8ft SSW swell with 11–12 second periods, but the wind is onshore from the south, making it choppy. Energy is still strong (1037–1621), but poor surf conditions. Sunday the 13th to Tuesday the 15th sees the swell taper to 4ft and below, with periods dropping, and the wind stays cross-offshore from the north, keeping it clean but weak. Energy fades to 435 and then 81. After that, from Wednesday the 16th to Thursday the 17th, it’s back to onshore winds and lumpy, with a last 10ft SSW pulse on the 17th, but with a fresh SSE cross-onshore at 19 mph, it’s a write-off.

Water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual. This spot can get crowded sometimes, so on the good Monday morning, expect a few locals out. Overall, the best bet is Monday the 7th morning for clean, fun waves, and the Friday the 11th afternoon for the big, expert-only swell. The rest of the window is a mix of weak, short-period slop or onshore mess.

Rusty.

Read more