La Boya Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for La Boya.

Straight up, I gotta be honest with you: this 16-day window is one long, tough stretch for surfers. We’re looking at a solid run of poor surf conditions right through. The first real chance for a wave doesn’t come until Thursday August 14th, and even then, it’s not a pretty picture.

The pattern is dominated by onshore and cross-onshore winds from the east and southeast. For the first several days, from Saturday the 8th right through to Wednesday the 13th, the swell is small, weak, and short-period. The combined energy of all swells is low, mostly under 200, and the wave state is consistently described as choppy or poor. You’d be fighting an onshore bump for a knee-high nothing burger. Not worth paddling out.

We finally see a noticeable bump in size and energy on Thursday August 14th. The morning shows some ESE swell pushing up to around 7ft, with a period of 8 seconds and the combined energy jumping to 834. Friday the 15th holds similar size around 6ft, and the period stretches to 9 seconds, with energy around the 600 mark. The swell direction is from the ESE, which for La Boya is optimum from the south – so not a perfect match, but it’s in the ballpark. The problem, and it’s a big one, is the wind. It’s a consistent moderate cross-onshore breeze (E or ESE at 12-16 mph) that’s keeping the surface messy and chopped up. The forecast notes all say “poor surf conditions” for these days.

The biggest swell of the whole period shows up on Sunday August 16th. The afternoon has ESE swell hitting 7ft with a period of 9 seconds – that’s the kind of size that needs some respect. The combined energy reading is 1289, which is strong. But again, we’ve got a moderate onshore wind (ESE 12 mph) and there’s even a risk of thunderstorms. The surf report for that afternoon finally upgrades to “marginal” rather than poor, but with those winds, it’ll be a rough and unruly ocean. This size (over 7ft) combined with onshore wind and a beach/reef setup means it’s likely more interesting for a kite surfer with a big kite than a paddler. For a surfer, it’s an expert-only, messy session at best.

After that little hump, the swell drops back down fast. Monday the 17th sees wave heights back under 3ft, and the rest of the outlook from the 18th to the 23rd goes quiet again, with weak swell from the SE, short periods of 6-7 seconds, and persistent onshore winds. The combined energy mostly stays in the low double digits. It’s a flat, choppy, frustrating end to the forecast.

Standout: I can’t really give you a true standout here. The best on offer, and I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel, would be the swell around Saturday August 16th and Sunday August 17th. If you are an experienced surfer who is absolutely desperate, you might find a raw, powerful, but messy wave at La Boya on the Sunday afternoon (16th). It’s got power (6-7ft, period up to 10 seconds), but the cross-onshore winds will make it a battle. Expect rippy, lumpy conditions. It’s not a day for beginners or those who like it clean.

Water temp on that Saturday morning (Aug 8th) is 85°F, about 1°F above normal, so it’s just your typical warm tropical bath. No surprises there.

For the rest of this blank run? It’s pretty normal for the region when the wind sits in the east all week. It’ll come good again eventually, but this window looks like a write-off for a proper surf.

Rusty.

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