La Isla Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s have a look at what’s coming up for La Isla. This is a reef and point set-up that loves a solid SSW swell, and it’s exposed to it, so when the direction lines up, it can really turn on. The water is sitting at 71°F right now, which is a massive 8°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s seriously unusual, you’ll be sweating in your wetsuit or loving the warm bath, depending on how you look at it.

First real chance to get wet is this Sunday afternoon, the 19th. Swell is at 5ft from the SW, with a 12-second period, but the wind is a cross-shore from the SSW at 9 mph, which is putting a bit of a cross-chop on the face. The combined energy is moderate at 771, but it’s not the cleanest, and the forecast calls it marginal. It’s a bit of a so-so start.

Monday the 20th has a better look. The morning is still a little messy with a cross-shore breeze, but by the afternoon things clean right up. We get a light cross-offshore breeze from the S at 6 mph, swell drops to 3ft from the SW, but the period is a healthy 13 seconds, so there’s proper groundswell shape. The combined energy is 464, moderate, but the conditions are clean. That afternoon window is the pick of the early week.

Tuesday the 21st has a similar story – morning is a bit cross-on from the SW, but the afternoon swings to a light cross-off from the S at 9 mph, with 4ft of SW swell at 11 seconds. Again, clean conditions. Not huge, but fun.

Now, things get a bit weird from Wednesday the 22nd through the end of the month. The swell drops off and the period gets short and choppy. Wednesday the 22nd has a 7-second period from the S, which is just wind swell, and the combined energy is still moderate at 464–513, but it’s messy. The wind is cross or cross-on for most of this stretch. Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th have super long period swells (24 and 20 seconds!) but the heights are tiny – 2ft to 3ft. That’s a lot of energy for very little wave height, and with a cross-on wind, it’s not going to do much at this point break. The combined energy is actually strong (603–746), but it’s all deep water energy that won’t stand up on the reef.

The real standout is buried in the second week. Monday the 27th of July. Clear skies, light offshore wind from the S at 6 mph, and a solid 6ft of SW swell with a 16 to 18-second period. The combined energy jumps to 2002, which is strong to very strong. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers – it’s over 5ft, so it’s a bit much for beginners, but for anyone who knows what they’re doing, this is the best session of the whole run. The wind is light and cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean. The direction is a perfect match for the optimum SSW.

Tuesday the 28th is still good with 6ft of SW swell, but the wind is a light cross-shore, so it’s a little less perfect than Monday. Still a solid wave.

Wednesday the 29th and Thursday the 30th are smaller but still clean. Thursday the 30th has light cross-offshore winds and 4ft of SW swell at 13 seconds, with a combined energy of 706, and the forecast calls it “very good”. That’s a nice option if you missed the big Monday.

After that, the swell fades out through the first days of August. The 31st of July and 1st of August are poor, with tiny swell and cross-on or cross-shore winds. The 2nd and 3rd of August see a little bump of S swell at 14 seconds, but it’s only 3ft to 4ft, and the wind is mostly cross or cross-on, so it’s marginal at best.

The bottom line: the best surf on offer is Monday the 27th of July, with a strong 6ft SW groundswell, clean light offshore winds, and a good long period. That’s the one to circle. The Thursday the 30th is a nice smaller alternative. The rest of the run is mostly small and messy, with a lot of days where the energy is there but the wind and height don’t line up. Be patient, and save your energy for that Monday session.

Rusty.

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