Hornitos Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s shaping up for Hornitos.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for any kind of decent surf. We’ve got a solid 16-day window, but honestly, there’s nothing that’s really gonna get the heart pumping. The whole period is plagued by cross-onshore winds that are just messing up the surface, leaving it choppy and bumpy. The water is running at 66°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won’t need a thick wetsuit if you’re desperate for a paddle.

For the first week, from Saturday the 1st right through to the following Saturday the 8th, it’s a real struggle. The swell hangs around 3 ft to 5 ft from the SW, with a moderate combined energy (405 to 648), but the wind is almost always cross-on, making it a choppy, bumpy mess. The best of a bad bunch looks to be the morning of Wednesday the 5th, when we get a brief moment of offshore wind from the W and WSW, with a 5 ft SW swell and a decent 12-second period. The energy jumps to 622, which is moderate, but it’s still only a marginal call. That’s about as good as it gets in the first week, and it’s not saying much.

Then we get a bit of a spike on Thursday the 6th. The morning sees a 5 ft SW groundswell with a very long 16-second period, and the energy rockets up to 1215 – that’s strong wave energy. The wind is offshore from the WSW, so it could be clean. But here’s the caveat: that long period groundswell can be a bit tricky at a beach break, making it break a bit too straight. It’s still a marginal call, but if you’re an experienced surfer, this is the standout of the whole forecast. For beginners, that 5 ft is starting to get a bit big.

The second week is a real fizzer. From the 9th onwards, the swell drops, and the winds stay stubbornly cross-on or onshore. The energy values drop back to weak to moderate (189 to 560). The only glimmer is on the afternoon of Friday the 14th, when we get glassy conditions with a 2 ft SW groundswell and a 15-second period, and the energy is a weak 297. The "expect good surf conditions" flag is there, but with such a small swell, it’s more of a longboard or cruiser wave than anything with power.

So, to be honest, there’s not a single day where I’d say “drop everything and go.” It’s a long, blank stretch. The only standout is Thursday the 6th morning for the more experienced crew, but even that’s a gamble. The rest is just a waiting game.

Rusty.

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