El Palito Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and it’s a tough one to call for El Palito (El Palito) over the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a long flat spell to get through before we see any kind of action, and honestly, when it does show up, it’s not going to be pretty for paddle surfing.

The water temp is sitting around 82°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

We’re looking at a big gap of nearly no surf until the morning of Saturday, August 1st. That stretch from now until the end of July has nothing. Zero. It’s dead flat, with poor surf conditions across the board and onshore winds messing things up. A real bummer.

On the morning of Saturday, August 1st, we finally get a pulse. A tiny 3ft northeast swell rolls in with a 7-second period. Combined wave energy is weak, only (75). But here’s the silver lining: the wind goes glassy – calm, off the SSE at 0 mph. That means clean conditions on the surface. It’s a beginner-friendly wave at 3ft, and works best with an optimum swell from the NNE. It’s a fairly consistent spot, but crowds are possible. The wave comment calls it “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions,” so don’t expect much shape or power. Still, if you’re desperate, that Saturday morning is the best you’ll get.

After that morning session, it’s back to flat and choppy again for about a week. We see a slight bump on the morning of Saturday, August 8th, with a 3ft northeast swell at 7 seconds (weak energy of 94), but the wind will be onshore from the NNE at 6 mph making it messy. The same goes for the morning of Sunday, August 9th – 3ft northeast swell at 6 seconds (66 energy) with onshore wind.

The period between August 1st and August 12th is mostly flat or very poor, with no decent windows for a clean wave. There’s a tiny 0.3ft, long-period 10-second pulse on August 10th, but it’s not going to do anything.

The next half-hearted chance comes on the morning of Wednesday, August 12th – a 3ft northeast swell at 7 seconds (energy at 99), but again the wind will blow onshore. That’s it for the run.

For this area, a long blank run like this isn’t that unusual, but it’s still a letdown. If you’re really keen, the only real standout is the glassy Saturday morning of August 1st. Otherwise, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for most of this forecast, with consistent cross-onshore winds and choppy conditions.

Keep checking, because forecasts can change, but right now it’s lean times.

Rusty.

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