Isla Vista Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get into it, mate. Honestly, it’s a tough stretch ahead for Isla Vista. The whole 16-day window is a bit of a grind, with no proper standouts worth circling on the calendar. The surf stays small and messy for days on end, and when there is a pulse of size, the wind just trashes it.

We start off Tuesday the 21st with a weak 3ft swell from the SSW, but that 15 km/h WSW cross-onshore breeze has it chopped up and ugly. Water temps are sitting at 68°F, which is a whopping 5°F warmer than normal for this time of year – that's very unusual, almost bathwater. The combined wave energy reads 432 (moderate), but the quality is poor.

Wednesday the 22nd and Thursday the 23rd are more of the same. Wednesday afternoon sees a jump to 6ft from the WNW, but the period is a terrible 6 seconds – all windswell – and a fresh 30 km/h cross-onshore makes it lumpy and horrible. Combined energy hits 462 (moderate) but it’s not worth a paddle. Thursday brings a 6ft WNW swell, again with a 6-second period and cross-onshore wind. Just ugly.

Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th see the swell drop back to under 3ft, with some long-period groundswell sneaking in (21-24 seconds). The wind goes light and onshore, which is an improvement, but the wave heights are tiny – only 2ft to 2ft. Combined energy is moderate to strong (407 to 664), but there’s just not enough push to do much. The conditions are marginal at best.

The whole of the following week, from Sunday the 26th right through to Saturday the 1st of August, is a flat-to-small pattern. Swells hover around 2ft to 4ft, generally from the SW to SSW, with periods ranging from 14 to 21 seconds. Winds are light and onshore for most of it, so the surface looks clean, but the wave heights are tiny. Combined energy swings from weak (55) up to moderate (690), but it’s just not surfable. There’s a 0.9ft swell on Saturday the 1st of August – basically flat.

The final few days, from Sunday the 2nd of August to Wednesday the 5th, show a slight increase in size again, with 5ft to 6ft swells from the WNW, but the period is back to a short 5-6 seconds, and the wind is either cross-on or cross-shore. Choppy, lumpy, and poor. Combined energy sits between weak and moderate.

Given the poor surf quality combined with the onshore and cross-onshore winds, if you’ve got a kite, the beach-and-reef setup here will be more fun for you than a paddle surfer. For the rest of us, it’s a two-week stretch to skip. Forecasts can always change, but right now, there’s not a single session that I’d call a goer.

Rusty.

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