El Murcielago Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I'll be straight with you – the next two weeks at El Murcielago are a real mixed bag. We're looking at a drawn-out stretch of mostly small, messy waves with just a few clear windows of clean, surfable conditions. Don't expect any pumping swell; the energy is pretty weak right through.

Let's start with what's happening. This Wednesday afternoon (August 12th), don't even bother. You've got a tiny 1ft SW swell but it's blown out by a 12 mph cross-on wind. It's a write-off.

Now, you might see a small pulse on Thursday morning (August 13th). That same 1ft SW swell has a crazy long 20-second period, but it's a groundswell. The energy is still weak (136). The big plus here is glassy conditions – zero wind. It'll be clean, but with that tiny size and such a long period, it'll be fat and slow, mostly just rolling through. It's surfable, but nothing to get excited about.

Friday the 14th shapes up a bit better. The morning has a 3ft swell from the WSW, period around 17 seconds, and a clean, cross-off breeze. The combined swell energy is moderate (386). This is a solid, clean wave for an intermediate surfer. By afternoon, the wind swings cross-shore and picks up, ruining it.

The pick of the first week is definitely Saturday morning, August 15th. We've got a clean 3ft WSW swell, with a 15-second period and a light cross-off breeze. The water temp is a very unusual 81°, way warmer than normal for the time of year. This is as good as it gets for the next little while – clean lines, decent shape for the size. Sunday morning (August 16th) is a smaller, cleaner alternative, but not a standout.

After that, we hit a dry spell. From Sunday afternoon all the way through to Wednesday morning August 26th, the guidance shows mostly poor conditions. The swell drops right back to 0.7ft–2ft, winds are messy or cross-on, and the wave energy is consistently weak (under 250). It's a long gap of over a week with no real recommendations. If you're a kitesurfer, some of those afternoons with a 12–15 mph cross-shore wind might look interesting, but for a paddle surfer, it's pretty bleak.

Then, just when you think it's all over, we get a glimmer. Thursday morning, August 27th – that's over two weeks away – we see a promising bump. A 2ft swell from the WSW with a 17-second period, clean cross-off wind, and a moderate shot of energy (239). The forecast calls for good surf conditions. It's a long way out so don't book your flights, but keep an eye on it.

To sum it up: the best bet in the entire run is the morning of Saturday, August 15th, with a close second being Friday morning August 14th. After that, settle in for a quiet week and a half before a possible late pulse on the 27th. It's not always like this; things can change.

Rusty.

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