El Zunzal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what's coming down the line for El Zunzal. We’ve got a 16-day window, and the first few days are going to be pretty slim pickings, but there’s some real quality on the horizon if you’re patient.

The overall pattern starts off slow. The swell is a bit on the small side and inconsistent at first, but there’s a clean window that opens up nicely later in the first week. The real standout, however, is a stretch of nearly perfect mornings that will have you forgetting about the flat spell.

We’re looking at El Zunzal, a classic point break. The water is sitting at a tropical 86°F, which is almost 2°F warmer than usual for this time of year – pretty nice, you won’t need a thick suit.

Saturday, September 12th is a write-off. The swell is just too weak and the wind is cross-on. Nothing to see here.

Sunday, September 13th shows some life. Morning brings a glassy 2ft SW swell with a 13-second period, and combined wave energy is moderate (255). It's small, but clean. The afternoon goes onshore and gets messy.

Monday, September 14th is a repeat of the Sunday morning formula: glassy 2ft swell, but with a longer 19-second period giving the waves some real shape. The energy jumps to a moderate 389. It’s small, but it’s pretty.

Now, Tuesday, September 15th (morning) is where it starts to get exciting. The wind is dead calm, the sky is partly cloudy, and we’ve got a glassy 2ft SSW groundswell with an 18-second period. The combined energy is a solid 559. For the size, the quality is going to be fantastic. This is a true glass-off session.

Wednesday, September 16th is another cracker of a morning. 4ft of clean SSW swell, a 16-second period, and a light NE offshore wind (5 km/h). The energy is nearly 1000 (995) – that’s pushing into strong territory for this spot. This is the pick of the first week.

Thursday, September 17th keeps the good run going. Completely glassy again in the morning with a 4ft SW swell and 14-second period. Energy is still strong at 627. Another beautiful morning session.

Friday, September 18th and Saturday, September 19th see the swell drop back to 2ft, but it’s still that long-period SSW groundswell. The mornings are glassy again, making for some really fun, clean little waves.

Sunday, September 20th gets messy with a moderate cross-onshore wind picking up. Keep the board in the car.

Monday, September 21st – don't let the “risk tstorm” scare you. The morning is dead calm again, glassy, with a 3ft SSW groundswell and a 17-second period. The energy is strong at 752. Could be some real gems between the rain squalls.

Tuesday, September 22nd through Friday, September 25th is a solid run of marginal conditions. The swell is there, but the wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore. It’s not terrible, but it’s not the magic we saw earlier. The cross-offshore wind on Thursday, September 24th morning cleans it up for a session with 3ft SW swell.

Then we get a late surprise. Saturday, September 26th and Sunday, September 27th bring a shift. On Saturday morning, we’ve got a 7ft SSE windswell coming in with a short 8-second period. The wind is a clean cross-offshore though, and the wave energy is strong (838). This one will be powerful and punchy – a bit much for beginners, but a proper challenge for the experienced crew. Sunday morning, the swell drops to 6ft from the SSW, period gets a little longer at 9 seconds, and it’s still clean with a cross-offshore breeze. This is a solid finisher.

The Standout: There is no question – the Tuesday, September 15th to Thursday, September 17th mornings are the absolute peak. Clean, glassy conditions with a building, strong, long-period groundswell. If you can only paddle out once, make it Wednesday, September 16th morning. That 4ft of glassy, 16-second groundswell with offshore wind is what dreams are made of at this point.

Keep an eye on the September 26th-27th weekend for a bigger, more powerful swell that’s best for the experts.

Rusty.

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