La Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. Conditions here at La Barra (Uruguay) are looking pretty tough for the next week and a half. The water is sitting at 75°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a nice little bonus if you’re paddling out, but the surf quality is what’s really letting us down.

Right from the start of Monday the 17th, we’ve got a small NNE swell running around 4ft with a short period of 8 seconds, and the wind is cross-onshore from the north. That combo is giving us poor surf conditions – choppy, messy, and not much to work with. The combined energy is weak at 192. This kind of setup sticks around for days. From Monday through to Sunday the 23rd, it’s the same story: small swell, short period, and persistent cross-onshore winds. The swell height bounces between 3ft and 5ft, but the period stays short (7-8 seconds), so the waves are weak, lacking shape, and the wind keeps them choppy. There’s nothing to get excited about in that first week.

Then, from Monday the 24th, the wind shifts a bit cross-off on Tuesday morning the 25th, which cleans things up briefly, but the swell is still short-period (6 seconds) and only 4ft, so even though it’s cleaner, it’s not really surfable. The energy remains weak to moderate at best.

The real notable change comes towards the end of the month. On Sunday the 30th, the swell picks up to 7ft and 8ft, still from the NNE, with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 822 and then 1087, which is strong to very strong energy. But the wind is still cross-onshore, and the wave comment says “marginal surf forecast.” This is getting big, but it’s not clean.

Then Monday the 31st of August is the best of the bunch. We’ve got a 7ft swell from the north with a much longer period of 12 seconds – that’s a proper groundswell. The combined energy is 1451, which is very strong. The morning has a gentle cross-shore breeze, so it’s reasonably clean. This is a standout, but it’s a big, long-period swell, which means it’s going to be powerful and better suited for more experienced surfers. Beginners should stay out of the water. The waves will be well-shaped but with longer gaps between sets. The afternoon gets a bit choppier as the wind picks up to 12 mph cross-onshore, so the morning session on the 31st is your window.

After that, Tuesday the 1st of September sees the swell drop back to 6ft and the period shorten to 9 seconds, with the wind turning cross-onshore again, so it’s back to poor conditions.

So, overall, it’s a long wait with a lot of poor surf, but the standout is definitely Monday the 31st of August morning. Get it while it’s clean on that long-period groundswell. For the rest of the time, it’s a tough call.

Rusty

Read more