El Roque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s shaping up. We’re staring down a long, frustrating stretch. The short version: there’s nothing good to surf for the next 16 days at El Roque. Every single day in the forecast is marked as poor surf conditions. That’s a hard pill to swallow, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it.

The first recommendation comes on Monday, August 3rd, but don’t get your hopes up. The water temperature is sitting at 73°, which is about average for this time of year, nothing weird there. The swell is from the NNE at 5 ft, with a short-period of 7 seconds and weak combined energy (210). The wind is onshore from the north at 9 mph, making it messy. It’s just not a goer. This same story repeats day after day. The swell bumps up a bit, like Wednesday August 5th with 6 ft from the NE and a bit more energy (358), but it’s still cross-onshore and choppy. Through the first week, the wind stays mostly onshore or cross-onshore, with speeds between 9 to 16 mph. The swell period stays short, between 6 and 9 seconds, so it’s all windswell, no real grunt.

There’s a gap of several days, but it’s not a gap of options – it’s a gap of quality. By the second week, around August 12th, the swell height gets up to 7 ft, with energy climbing into the 400s and 500s. Still, the wind is onshore or cross-on, and the period is still short. On August 15th, we see 7 ft from the NNE, and then August 16th hits 8 ft with energy at 719, but it’s all for nothing – the conditions are still rated poor. The swell is too big for beginners at that point, and the short period means it’s just a crumbly, choppy mess. By August 18th, the swell hits 8 ft, the biggest of the forecast, with energy at 819, and the period finally stretches to 9 seconds. But the wind is a moderate cross-onshore at 12-16 mph, making it choppy and ugly. Honestly, with that much wind and that short of a period, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The surf break is a reef, and it’s fairly consistent, but with the wind coming from the wrong direction and the swell clocking in from the NNE, not the optimum NNW, it’s just not coming together. Roque is inconsistent enough as it is, so a blank run like this is more normal for the area. It’s a bummer, but it happens. The best advice I can give is to keep an eye on the forecast – it tends not to stay poor for long. But for now, save your energy.

Rusty.

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