La Laguna Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board and let’s talk about La Laguna. It’s looking like a bit of a waiting game over the next couple of weeks, but there’s a flicker of life way out there on the horizon.

Right now, the surf is pretty much flat-out poor. We’ve got small, weak, short-period waves mixing with cross-onshore breezes making things choppy and messy. The energy is weak, sitting around 78 units on Friday afternoon. The water is a balmy 82°, which is a fair bit warmer than normal for this time of year – a nice touch if you’re just having a swim.

Saturday morning will clean up a little with a light cross-offshore breeze, but the swell is still tiny at 3ft. It’s surfable but nothing to get excited about. From there, it just fades away completely. We’re looking at a solid stretch of days with absolutely no waves on offer, from Sunday the 9th all the way through to the 17th. That’s a long, flat spell where the ocean will be more like a lake. The wind will be light and sometimes glassy during this time, but with zero swell, it doesn't matter.

The first hint of something real comes on the morning of Monday the 18th. It’s still small, only 2ft, but the wind is light and cross-offshore, so it should be clean. The energy is still pretty weak though, at 37 units. The afternoon of that same day brings a bit more size, pushing waves up to 4ft, but the wind swings cross-onshore and it gets choppy real fast.

The real standout in this entire forecast, and I mean the only one worth marking on your calendar, is the morning of Saturday the 22nd of August. This is a full week and a half away, so keep your expectations in check, but the models are showing a proper pulse of swell. We’re looking at 8ft of west-northwest groundswell with a period of 9 seconds. The energy reading is a massive 1174 units, which means there’s a lot of power behind it. The wind is going to be a moderate cross-shore, which isn't ideal, but for a reef break like this, that can actually help keep it a bit more organized.

This is going to be a serious step up in size. At 8ft, this is getting into the realm of experts only. It’s not one for the beginners. If you have to ask if you should paddle out, the answer is probably no. The period is on the shorter side, so it won't have that long-period groundswell perfection, but the raw power will be there. Expect big, challenging waves.

There’s another pulse of energy that afternoon, pushing 10ft and reading 1441, but the wind is predicted to be stronger and more onshore, which will make it tough and unruly. The morning session is definitely the pick of the two.

So, it’s a bleak outlook for a while. We have to pay our dues with a long flat spell. But that final Saturday is the one to watch, promising but definitely one for the experienced crew. I’ll be watching the forecasts as it gets closer.

Rusty

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