La Palue Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's on offer at La Palue. It's a real mixed bag over the next few weeks, with not much to get excited about for a while. The first sniff of anything worthwhile doesn't show up until Tuesday the 22nd of September, so there's a solid gap of over a week where you're better off finding something else to do.

The water temp is sitting at a fairly normal 64°F, so nothing unusual there for this time of year.

The ocean's got plenty of energy, with the combined swell energy hitting some massive numbers—2827 (moderate) early on, then later in the month it cranks up to over 3000, which is very strong, but the wind is the killer. We've got a lot of fresh to strong breezes coming from the west and northwest, cross-on or onshore, making everything messy and choppy. It's mostly poor conditions.

For the first week and a half, nearly every session is a write-off. The wind's never your friend, and even though the swell size ranges from 3 ft to 8 ft, the quality is terrible. That big 7 ft to 10 ft stuff from the 16th to the 21st is pure grunt with awful wind—that looks more like a windy day for kiting than paddling into waves. The locals might tell you otherwise, but I wouldn't bother.

The standout window is Tuesday the 22nd of September. Early morning at La Palue we finally get a glassy window. The wind goes glassy, the swell is a solid 7 ft from the WNW with a nice 12-second period—that's a proper groundswell for the points. This is the one. It's an expert wave here, and with that size it's only for experienced surfers. The crowd profile says "often" busy, so you'll have company. The combined energy is 1427, which is moderate. This is the best on offer, no question.

After that, Wednesday the 23rd and Thursday the 24th bring in offshore winds from the east and southeast with cleaner conditions, but the swell drops back to 4 ft to 5 ft. Clean but a lot smaller. That's worth a look if you're keen for a paddle, and the 10-9 second period is average, but it's not the same quality as the Tuesday morning.

From the 25th onwards, it gets ugly again. The wind swings back cross and onshore, and by the 27th of September we're looking at a 8 ft to 10 ft swell with strong breezes and messy surf. That's a big swell, but with those winds it's only for the hardcore nutters or kiters.

So, in short: the one to circle on the calendar is the morning of Tuesday the 22nd of September. It's the only true standout in the whole 16 days. Get on it if you can. After that, the 23rd and 24th mornings are okay for a smaller, cleaner session.

Rusty.

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