El Murcielago Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

Look, I’m gonna level with you. The next couple of weeks are going to be a bit of a grind for surf. We’ve got a long stretch of small, messy waves, and you’re going to have to pick your moments carefully. The good news is there are a few windows where it cleans up, and one day right at the end of the window looks like the real deal.

The energy in the water is weak to moderate at best for most of this period, with the combined swell energy mostly reading in the low to mid hundreds. Saturday the 15th starts things off with a bit of push – 3ft at 15 seconds from the WSW – but it’s crossed up with a SW wind and the water’s choppy. Not worth getting wet for. The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is a massive 9° warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won’t need a springy, that’s for sure.

Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th are similar stories, with around 2ft swells and clean conditions only in the mornings as a cross-offshore wind filters through. It’s marginal at best. Tuesday the 18th is the first real tease. The morning drops to a tiny 1ft, but the wind goes glassy and it’s dead clean. The period is a long 16 seconds, meaning there’s some proper groundswell in the water, but at that size, it’s barely a ripple. The energy is weak at (189), but if you’ve got a longboard and nowhere to be, the lineup will be a pond.

We then hit a flat spell. From Wednesday the 19th through to the following Tuesday the 26th, the swell hovers between 1ft and 3ft, and the dominant feature is the afternoon sea breeze that chops everything up. The mornings are occasionally clean with light glassy patches, like on Saturday the 22nd when the wind goes totally calm, but there’s just no power behind it. The energy readings are consistently weak, often below 100, and on the 26th they bottom out at 51. That’s a long, dry stretch of blown-out dribble, and even the clean moments are barely surfable.

Things start to look a little more promising towards the end of the month. Friday the 28th’s morning session has 2ft with a long 14 second period and glassy conditions, but it’s still ordinary. Saturday the 29th sees the swell pick up a notch to 2ft, and with a cross-offshore wind in the morning, it’s clean, but the energy is only moderate at (311). It’s a step in the right direction, but not a standout.

Now, the one to circle on the calendar is Sunday the 30th of August. The morning is where it’s at. The swell is 2ft from the SSW, with a 14-second period, and there’s a light cross-offshore breeze making it glassy. The combined energy is moderate at (254), and for the first time in the forecast, the conditions are described as “expect good surf conditions.” This is our best bet. It’s not huge, but it’ll be clean, lined up, and with the crowd likely to be low given the preceding lull, it’s worth getting up early for. The afternoon blows out with a 30 km/h cross-shore, so make your move in the morning.

El Murcielago is a very consistent spot, but this run is a test of patience. The long period swells mean it’ll be a bit more lined up and easier to paddle out, but the size is just not there for the most part. Sunday the 30th is the standout.

Alright, that’s the picture. Get out there when you can, and be ready for that Sunday.

Rusty.

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