La Paloma Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright surfers, Rusty here with a look at what’s on the cards over the next couple of weeks for La Paloma. It’s a bit of a slow burner, a lot of small, average days to work through, but there’s a real beauty lurking way down the line. Don't get too excited about the immediate future, the ocean is in a bit of a sleepy mood.

Right out of the gate, from Monday the 10th through to the morning of Saturday the 15th of August, we’ve got a long stretch of nothing special. We’re talking swell heights mostly between 1 ft and 2 ft, with periods struggling to get past 10 seconds. The wind is often a light cross-shore, which isn't horrible, but there's just no grunt in the water. The combined wave energy barely cracks 100 (88 at best that first day), and it’s really just a dribble. There's a brief window on the morning of Tuesday the 11th and again on the morning of Friday the 14th where it goes glassy, but the swell is so tiny (2 ft and 2 ft) it’s hardly worth wetting a wetsuit. You’d be surfing ankle-slappers.

Things get a little more interesting but still messy from Saturday the 15th. A new pulse of short-period, windswell shows up from the NNE, pushing heights up to 5 ft to 5 ft on the Saturday and Sunday. The periods are a weak 6 to 7 seconds though, so it’s just lumpy, crumbly junk. The energy does pick up to 283 on Sunday afternoon, but with a consistent cross-breeze, it’s going to be a paddling workout for weak, chopped-out waves. A couple of mornings, like Monday the 17th and especially Tuesday the 18th, offer glimmers of clean conditions, but the swell remains average and short-period.

Now, here’s the part that gets your heart beating. After a long run of mediocrity, we finally get a proper swell. All eyes are on Tuesday, August 25th. The morning and afternoon both look spectacular. The swell from the NW is forecast to be a solid 6 ft to 6 ft with a nice long 10-second period. This is real groundswell energy, and the numbers back it up – we’re talking massive combined energy of 709 and 745. The real beauty part is the wind, which is forecast to be a light east-northeasterly breeze, giving us a clean cross-offshore flow. For La Paloma, which needs a clean, glassy or off wind to shine, this is about as good as it gets.

That Tuesday the 25th is the standout. It looks absolutely pumping with clean, powerful lines wrapping in from the NW. Just bear in mind, the crowds here are often a problem, especially when it gets this good, so get in the water early. Also, be aware that La Paloma can get a bit inconsistent, and with a longer-period swell it can close out at the beach, but when the conditions line up like this, it’s an expert-level playground. It’s the only day in the whole 16-day window I’d be marking on the calendar. Before that, it’s going to be a whole lot of waiting.

Rusty.

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