Jalama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’ve been staring at the charts for our little stretch of coast. Honestly, it’s a tough run ahead. The next 16 days are looking pretty grim for quality waves. We’ve got a long, dry spell with no real standouts. The first record kicks off on Tuesday, 11th August, but don’t get your hopes up.

The overall pattern is one of persistent cross-shore winds and weak, messy swell. The water is sitting at 67°F which is a solid 4°F warmer than usual for this time of year, so you’ll be sweating in your wetsuit, but that’s about the only upside.

Right out of the gate, Tuesday the 11th is a write-off. The morning has some weak 4ft swell from the NW with a short period of 9 seconds, but it’s got that onshore cross-wind from the SSW at 6 mph, leaving it poor and choppy. The afternoon is even worse, with a tiny 2ft SSW swell, but it’s hampered by a strong cross-onshore wind. The combined energy is moderate (371 and 430), but it’s all junk.

We’re looking at a solid week of this. From Wednesday the 12th all the way through to Monday the 24th of August, the situation is poor. The swell is tiny, rarely cracking 3ft, and the winds are almost always cross or cross-onshore. It’s a constant battle of moderate to fresh breezes, mostly from the NW, leaving a cross-chop on the surface. The combined energy is moderate, ranging from 356 to 796, but it never translates into anything rideable. The only real highlight is a brief window on Friday the 21st afternoon, where we get a 5ft swell from the NW with a short period of 6 seconds, and the wind goes clean cross-off from the NW at 19 mph. It’s a marginal call, but that’s the best we’ve got—a short, clean-looking window. But don’t blink, you’ll miss it.

The following week, starting Sunday the 23rd, is a little more interesting but still not great. Sunday morning has a 5ft WNW swell with a short period of 7 seconds and a light onshore breeze. It’s still marginal. The real tease comes on Tuesday the 25th. The morning sees a 3ft SW swell packing a long period of 17 seconds and a combined energy of 796. That’s a proper groundswell, but it’s hitting with a cross-onshore wind. The afternoon improves a bit, with a 5ft WNW swell, but the wind is back to a moderate cross-shore. Wednesday the 26th morning has the biggest number of the forecast, a 5ft NW swell with a 9-second period and a combined energy of 981, but it’s still just a gentle cross-shore wind. That’s the biggest lump of energy, but it’s not clean.

For a specific spot, the only break on the list is Jalama. It’s an exposed, advanced break that is very consistent, but it’s not working. The optimum swell direction is SW, and we get a few pulses of that, but the wind is always wrong. The crowd profile is “sometimes,” so you might have it to yourself, but that’s because the waves are trash. The setup here is a beach break, and with the constant wind and messy swell, it honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for almost the entire period.

The one standout, if you want to call it that, is the Friday afternoon, 21st August. The 5ft NW swell, despite the short period, is the only time the wind goes clean. It’s a small window, and it’s over a week away, so it’s not a lock. The other faint hope is Tuesday the 25th morning, with that long-period 3ft SW groundswell. If that light breeze holds, it could be glassy, but a long-period swell on a beach break like Jalama can be a bit too straight, and the combined energy is moderate. It’s a maybe.

In short, it’s a lean period. Don’t plan your week around it. The conditions are stacked against us. Keep your eyes on the forecasts, because it tends not to stay this poor for long, but for now, I’d say find something else to do.

Rusty.

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