El Sardinero - Segunda Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Grim times on the cards, my friends. I'm looking at the charts for our stretch of coast, and honestly, it’s a bit heartbreaking. For the next sixteen days, there’s just nothing on offer that’s worth paddling out for. We’re staring down the barrel of a proper flat spell, the kind that tests your patience and makes you wonder why you even own a wetsuit. The only break on the radar is El Sardinero - Segunda (Santander), a beach and rocks setup that’s fairly consistent but is going to be starved of any real swell.

The whole period is a write-off. We’re talking about a gap that runs from now, the 3rd, all the way through to the 17th of August with nothing but tiny, weak slop. The wave energy is pitiful, with readings all in the single digits and teens, barely a pulse. Early on, the 4th and 5th, we might see knee-high dribble at 1ft at best, but with periods of 8-9 seconds, it’s going to be soft and gutless. The wind is light, sometimes even glassy, which is a small mercy, but you’re just staring at a flat, oily ocean. It’s almost more frustrating than a howling onshore mess.

There’s a bit of a bump in energy around the 10th and 11th, with the combined energy creeping up to 35 (weak), but the swell height is still a pathetic 2ft. It’s just enough to make you think, but not enough to do anything with. Then it drops off again into another flat spell. We see another slight pulse around the 14th and 15th, with the swell getting up to 2ft, but the period crashes down to 4-5 seconds. That’s just windswash and chop, the kind of stuff that’s more frustrating than flat. The energy is still weak, struggling to get past 37.

The only glimmer of hope in this entire sixteen-day outlook comes right at the end, on Monday the 17th of August. The combined energy finally gets into a slightly less pathetic range, hitting 39 in the morning and then 85 in the afternoon (moderate wave energy). The swell is still small, only 2ft, but that afternoon period jumps to 11 seconds, which is a real shift in quality. For a spot like El Sardinero, which is fairly exposed to the NNW, a NW swell at 11 seconds is a good sign. It suggests some proper groundswell energy is finally pushing in. The wind is light cross-off from the WNW, which should keep it reasonably clean. This is the one window where you might get a fun, if small, wave on the better shaped sets, especially for the loggers or people on bigger boards.

Don't get too excited about the 18th, though. The wind is forecast to howl from the WNW at 19 mph, which will chop up any of that new swell into a messy, blown-out jumble. That 17th looks like our one and only chance to get wet. It’s a long-range call, so don’t book your flights, but it’s something to hold onto. The water is a touch warmer than average for this time of year, coming in at 72°F with a 3°F anomaly, so at least you won’t be freezing while you’re sitting there staring at the flatness.

Honestly, for the bulk of this period, unless you’re into kitesurfing, the board can stay in the garage. The surf quality is just trash for paddle surfing. The lack of any consistent swell means it’s a normal, if frustrating, blank run for this area. We just have to wait for that pulse on the 17th and hope the models hold. Keep the faith.

Rusty

Read more