La Derecha del Cartel Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. We’re looking at a mixed bag for the next couple of weeks, but there is some serious potential brewing for the patient surfer. The real magic looks to be towards the back half of the run, with a solid swell setting up for the start of September.

Right now, it’s pretty quiet. We’ve got a few tiny waves on offer, but nothing worth paddling out for just yet. The water is sitting at a warm 76°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

The first window that gets the nod is Monday morning, August 24th, at La Derecha del Cartel. We're looking at clean, weak 2ft swell from the NNW with a 12-second period. The offshore wind from the ESE will have it looking tidy, but the energy is pretty low (156). It's surfable, but very ordinary. Monday afternoon is much the same story.

The pattern stays small and weak through the middle of the week. There’s a gap of several quiet days from early Tuesday until Friday morning, August 28th. That Friday morning has a little bump of 4ft from the NE, but the period is only 6 seconds and the combined energy is weak-to-moderate at 108. At least it’s glassy.

Now, things start getting interesting. The standout session for the near term looks like Saturday morning, August 29th. La Derecha del Cartel will see 4ft of NE swell with a moderate 8-second period, and the energy bumps up into a decent range (225). With a clean offshore ESE breeze and the break being fairly consistent, it'll be a good session. Just be aware, it can get crowded here often.

After another few days of smaller, ordinary surf, we get to the real highlight of this outlook. The period from Tuesday, September 1st onward is where it gets exciting. Tuesday afternoon kicks off a run of building swell. By the afternoon of Wednesday, September 2nd, we’re into the 6ft NE swell with strong energy (423), and the conditions are glassy. It gets even better from there. Thursday, September 3rd, looks absolutely prime. Morning sees 6ft NE swell (energy 481) and glassy conditions, but the real gem is Thursday afternoon: 7ft NE swell, still glassy, and the combined energy jumps to 544. That’s a proper, punchy swell on offer, and the optimum direction from the NW matches up nicely. This is a session for the experienced crew, as it's pushing into expert territory. It’s a long way out, so treat it as a must-watch.

Following that, Friday, September 4th still holds clean, solid 4ft NE swell, before the wind turns onshore and messy on the 5th and 6th. The very end of the run on Monday, September 7th shows a new pulse of long-period groundswell—3ft from the WNW with a 15-second period—but with strong onshore wind, it’s a write-off. The energy is there (273), but the conditions won't be.

Rusty.

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