El Palito Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it's Rusty here. Let's be straight with you about the local surf scene. We've got a long, quiet stretch ahead, so don't be holding your breath for anything epic just yet.

Looking at the whole 16-day window, the honest truth is we're in a flat spell. For the first several days, from Friday the 17th of July right through to the early hours of Wednesday the 22nd of July, there's simply nothing to recommend. Zero. Nada. The water's flat or the conditions are just plain ugly. It's a tough run.

The first real glimmer of hope shows up on Wednesday morning, the 22nd of July. El Palito (beach and breakwater) might just offer a tiny bit of movement. We're looking at a weak 3ft swell from the NE, with a short period of 6 seconds. The combined energy is a paltry 81 (weak energy), so don't expect any power. The water temp is sitting at 82°, which is about average for this time of year. The highlight here is the wind: it's glassy. That's a major positive. For a brief moment, it could be clean. But the swell is tiny, and it's a beginner-level break anyway, so this is only for the most desperate or for someone learning. It's a one-off, though; by the afternoon the wind swings cross-onshore and kills it.

After that, we're back into a barren stretch. Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th are write-offs. Saturday morning the 25th of July teases with another 3ft NE swell, but the wind is onshore, and the energy is still weak at 89. It's a poor surf condition all the way.

Sunday the 26th of July sees a drop to 3ft from the NE, but it's all cross-onshore and choppy. This pattern of tiny, weak, wind-affected swell continues through the end of the month. There's a tiny 3ft bump on Wednesday the 29th of July, and a pathetic 0.3ft long-period (12 seconds) swell on Thursday the 30th of July, but both are ruined by onshore wind. The energy drops to just 5 for that Thursday swell – that's not even a ripple.

The real kicker is that there's no standout. There's no single day that's worth circling on the calendar. The best of a bad bunch is that glassy Wednesday morning the 22nd of July. But even that is a "maybe" for a total beginner on a foamie. For anyone else, it's a hard pass. The break is "fairly consistent" but the swell just isn't showing up. This kind of blank run is a bit more normal for this area when the pattern sets in, so we just have to wait for the next system to shake things up. For now, it's all about the flat spell.

Keep your eyes on the horizon, but don't rush. The forecasts can change, but right now, it's a waiting game.

Rusty.

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