La Chocolatera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty tough for anyone wanting to get wet. The swell is just not lining up with the winds, and at La Chocolatera, we’re going to be staring at a lot of onshore and cross-onshore energy for the foreseeable future. It’s not going to be a total write-off, but you’re going to have to be patient and pick your moments very carefully.

The first stretch, from this Friday the 31st right through to the following Wednesday the 5th, is basically a dead loss. We’ve got small swell, mostly around 2ft to 3ft, and it’s all coming in with the wind chopping it up. The energy in the water is weak to moderate at best, with readings like (422), (385), and (218) – it's just not enough to do anything with. It’s a waiting game. You’d be better off doing something else.

We finally see a bit of life on Thursday the 6th. The morning brings a touch more size, around 4ft from the SW, with a period of 13 seconds and moderate energy (550). The wind is light and cross-onshore, so it might just be surfable for the die-hards, but the notes say it's marginal at best. I wouldn't be getting too excited. The afternoon gets chopped up again.

Then things start to get interesting. The real standout of this whole period looks like it’s going to be Friday the 7th into Saturday the 8th. That Friday morning, the swell ticks up to 3ft, but the period jumps to a juicy 16 seconds, pushing the energy up to a strong (697). The wind is straight onshore from the SSW, which is a shame, but the power is there. The water temp is about normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The bigger, cleaner-looking window opens up on Sunday the 9th and into the following week. On Sunday the 9th, we have clean 3ft surf with a 13-second period and moderate energy (395), but the wind is on it. The period stays around 12-13 seconds through the 10th, with similar sized surf.

But look out for Tuesday the 11th and the days after. There’s a shift in the swell character. On Tuesday afternoon, you’ll see a long-period pulse of 19 seconds, but the height drops right off to 1ft. Everything’s a trade-off. The bigger groundswells are coming in with longer periods, like 16 to 18 seconds on the 13th and 14th of August, but they're still small and the wind is still not playing ball. The energy values are solid, with readings in the (526) and (535) range, indicating moderate wave energy, but it's all getting messy with the onshore flow.

The 13th of August morning is the only one that shows a glimmer of something more. A 2ft swell at 16 seconds with light winds and a score that hints at being a better option. It’s still small, but it might be the cleanest, most organized surf we see all window.

Given how inconsistent the conditions are, and with that strong onshore wind along with the small, chopped-up swell, this set-up at La Chocolatera looks a lot more interesting for the kite surfers than for us paddle surfers. Honestly, if you have a kite, you might have some fun. For the rest of us, it's a waiting game to see if the long-range models shift in our favor.

This is Rusty, signing off. Keep an eye on that forecast.

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