La Nartelle Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you—this stretch for La Nartelle is a tough one. We’re looking at a real long run of next to nothing on offer, and I mean a solid 16 days where the surf just doesn’t show up in any meaningful way. The first recommendation doesn’t come until the 24th of July, and even then, it’s barely a whisper. From there, we’ve got a scattering of tiny, weak waves that never really get going, with the whole first week and beyond just flat or near-flat. There’s a gap of several days with no real recommendations at all.

The water is a standout though—way warmer than usual for this time of year, sitting at 82°F, which is a solid 9°F above the long-term average. That’s seriously unusual, so you’ll be swimming in bathwater even if you’re not surfing.

Now, for the so-called “surf.” On Friday the 24th of July, the morning is clean with a light cross-off breeze from the NNW at 6 mph, but the swell is a total zero—combined energy of all swells directed here is 0. By the afternoon, a tiny 2 ft easterly swell rolls in, but it’s onshore at 12 mph, period is a pathetic 3 seconds, and the energy is only 6. It’s just poor. Saturday the 25th is more of the same—1.0 ft to 2 ft, short period, onshore winds, nothing to paddle for. Sunday the 26th has a small 2 ft southerly swell in the afternoon with a cross-off breeze and a slightly better 6-second period, energy at 18, but it’s still weak and not worth getting excited about.

The rest of the week and into August is a desert. Tiny waves in the 0.7 ft to 1 ft range, periods under 5 seconds, and energy values that never break double digits—mostly 0 to 10. The best you’ll see is on Thursday the 6th of August morning, a 1.0 ft easterly swell with a 4-second period, energy at 2, and a clean cross-off breeze from the WNW at 12 mph. That afternoon, it turns glassy with 0 mph wind and a 1.0 ft ENE swell, period 4 seconds, energy 4. It’s clean, but it’s tiny. Then on Saturday the 8th of August afternoon, a 1 ft ENE swell with a 3-second period, offshore wind from the W at 6 mph, energy 3—clean, but again, barely a ripple.

The bottom line: this is a flat spell, mate. The break is sheltered and inconsistent, and with the swell direction coming from the east and southeast, it’s never matching the optimum. If you’re desperate for a paddle, the glassy conditions on the 6th of August afternoon might give you a tiny, clean wave, but it’s really only for beginners on a foam board. For the rest of us, it’s a write-off. Forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a tough stretch.

Rusty.

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