La Chocolatera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee and let me break this down for you. It's a bit of a slow burn, but there's a chance if you're willing to wait.

Right off the bat, things are looking a bit grim. The water temperature is sitting at 78°F, which is a whopping 10°F warmer than normal for this time of year. That's a real anomaly you don't see every day, and it's going to feel like a bath.

The first few days are a write-off, to be honest. From Monday, August 31st right through to the end of that first week, it's all "poor surf conditions" with a light onshore breeze. The swell is there, around 3 ft from the SW, but the quality is just not there. The wave energy is moderate at best, reading between 425 and 863 on the energy scale, but it's just not clean enough.

There's a long gap of small, poor surf until we hit the standout period. Things start to get interesting on Friday, September 4th. We've got a solid 5 ft to 6 ft SW swell rolling in, with a period of 16 seconds. That's proper groundswell. The combined energy jumps right up to between 1281 and 1649, which is strong. The wind is offshore, which is a huge plus, and the mornings are looking the cleanest. That said, the surf is still flagged as "marginal" with a call of "questionable tide conditions". This is your best bet, but it's not a guaranteed classic. The 6 ft swell on Friday afternoon is getting up there, so it'll be a bit strong for beginners, but for the intermediates, it's the best window for a paddle.

Then, just as quickly as it arrived, it fades. From Saturday, September 5th onward, the swell drops back to 4 ft to 5 ft, and the onshore wind returns. The wave energy drops back to moderate levels, and the comments are all "poor" or "marginal" again. There's a few days with a light breeze and a 4 ft, 16-second SW groundswell, but it's nearly always described as "fairly choppy" or "cross-onshore". The whole second week looks like a washout with very little energy, energy values dropping into the low 200s, and tiny 1 ft to 2 ft waves.

So, to sum it up: the only real standout is the morning of Friday, September 4th. Get on it if you can, because the rest of the 16 days looks like a long, slow, choppy close-out.

Rusty

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