Izquierda Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking.

Honestly, mate, this is a tough one. Izquierda is a consistent reef break that usually knows how to handle a bit of swell, but for the entire 16-day stretch, the call is "poor surf conditions" every single session. There’s no standout day, no window where the stars align, so I’m just going to walk you through the pattern so you know what you’re dealing with.

The water is sitting at 73° and that’s only about 2° above the long-term average, so pretty normal for this time of year. No worries there.

Right from the start on Saturday the 1st of August, we’ve got a tiny 2ft NW swell with a short 10-second period, and a moderate NNW breeze onshore. The combined energy is weak (160). By the afternoon, the wind picks up to 15 mph from the north, still onshore, and the energy drops to 144. Not a great start.

Sunday the 2nd stays much the same – 2ft to 3ft, period dropping to 6 seconds, and the wind stays onshore from the north. The energy is barely hitting 105 by the afternoon. It’s flat and messy.

Monday the 3rd through to Monday the 10th of August is a grind. Swell sits between 3ft and 5ft, but the period is stuck at a miserable 6 or 7 seconds – that’s short-period wind chop, not groundswell. The wind is relentless from the north or north-northeast, onshore the whole time, with speeds between 12 and 19 mph. The combined energy climbs a bit, hitting 220 on Thursday the 6th, but with that onshore wind and short period, it’s just choppy, bumpy, and no good for a decent wave. The only glimmer is on Tuesday the 4th when the wind goes cross-on for a moment, making it "moderate cross-onshore and choppy" – still not a paddling recommendation.

From Tuesday the 11th to Sunday the 16th, the swell slowly builds to 5ft–5ft, and the period finally starts to lengthen – hitting 8 seconds by the 14th, and even 10 seconds by the 16th. The combined energy shows some real muscle: 355 on Friday the 14th morning, 516 that afternoon, and 395 on the 16th morning. That’s moderate to strong energy, and the wind is still onshore but only a moderate breeze. But the problem remains – every single session is still marked as "poor surf conditions." The wind direction never shifts offshore, and the swell direction is mostly north or north-northeast, which isn’t the optimum NW direction that Izquierda really wants. So even though the numbers look better, the quality just isn’t there.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it – there’s no good surf on offer in this 16-day window. The break is consistent, and it’s a reef, so it can handle swell, but the wind and swell direction are fighting us every step of the way. If you’re a kite surfer, that onshore wind and increasing swell might be worth a look, but for a paddle surfer, you’re better off waiting for a change in the pattern.

Rusty.

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