La Nartelle Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – the outlook for La Nartelle is a bit of a tough one to swallow for the next couple of weeks.

Overall, it's a quiet period. We're looking at a long stretch of very small, weak surf, and the windows for anything decent are almost non-existent. The water is sitting at a very warm 82°, which is over 7° warmer than usual for this time of year – that's a seriously unusual anomaly, making for a bath-like paddle.

Right now, we're in a dry spell. There's nothing to report for the first few days. The first hint of any wave energy comes in on Tuesday, August 4th, but it's a tease. We're looking at a tiny easterly swell pushing in at 2ft with a period of just 4 seconds. That's short-period, weak windswell, and with a solid 12 mph onshore easterly wind, it's going to be a choppy, blown-out mess. The combined energy is a measly 11 (weak), so honestly, it's not worth paddling out for.

The pattern continues – a few tiny pulses of swell come and go, but the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, keeping the surface bumpy. Friday morning, August 7th, shows a little more promise with a clean, cross-offshore breeze from the northwest and a 2ft NE swell. The period is still short at 3 seconds, and the combined energy is only 7 (weak), but it would be glassy. You'd be scratching for the smallest of waves, but at least you wouldn't be fighting the wind. The same goes for a couple of other mornings, like Saturday, August 8th, and Tuesday, August 11th, where the wind goes light and clean, but the swell is completely flat.

Further out, Friday, August 14th brings a strong offshore wind from the west-northwest (12 mph), then a fresh offshore from the west on Friday afternoon (22 mph). The catch? There's zero swell on the forecast. All that offshore wind will do is blow the surface flat. The run of no-surf days stretches for a good week and a half.

By Saturday, August 15th in the afternoon, we finally see a tiny pulse of 2ft easterly swell with a 4-second period crawling back in. The combined energy is only 8 (weak), and the wind is a light cross-shore from the SSE. It's not great, but it's the best we've seen in a while. La Nartelle is a sheltered spot, and it's inconsistent by nature, so this kind of blank run, while frustrating, is just how it goes here sometimes.

The standout, if you can call it that, is that Friday, August 14th offshore window. The wind will be clean, but you need the swell to fill in. Right now, the long-range signal is for a tiny bit of energy on the 15th and 16th, but it's a long way off and very uncertain. Don't hold your breath.

Honestly, if you're desperate for a paddle, the clean morning windows on the 7th, 8th, 11th, or 12th are your only chance for a semi-smooth surface, but you'll be floating on a glassy lake with no waves. For a proper wave, we're looking at a blank run for at least a week and a half.

Rusty, signing off.

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