La Preciosa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for La Preciosa.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this stretch ain’t looking like a classic. The first week and a half is pretty much a write-off. We’ve got a solid run of days from Tuesday the 4th of August all the way through to the 15th of August where the surf is just poor. The wind is sitting cross-off from the east, blowing at 12 to 18 mph every day, and while it keeps the surface clean, the swell is weak and short-period. The energy is low to moderate, maxing out around 197 on the Friday morning, but it’s just not doing anything special. The swell direction is mostly east or east-northeast, and La Preciosa really wants it from the north, so it’s hitting the reef at a bad angle. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing wild.

Now, there’s a glimmer of hope right at the tail end of the forecast. From Saturday the 15th afternoon, we start seeing “marginal” conditions, and by Sunday the 16th, the swell is building. The energy jumps up to 488 on the Sunday morning, with a solid 6 ft swell from the east. But here’s the kicker – the period is only 8 seconds, so it’s a short-period windswell, not a clean groundswell. The wind is still a cross-off, but it’s a bit lighter, around 15 mph. The standout for the whole period is probably the morning of Monday the 17th of August. The swell drops a touch to 5 ft, but the wind eases to a gentle 9 mph, and the energy is still decent at 311. It’s the cleanest window we get, but even then it’s only rated as “marginal”. The swell direction is still east, not the optimum north, so the reef won’t be firing at its best.

Then on Wednesday the 19th of August, we get a bit of a surprise. The wind finally swings offshore from the east-southeast, blowing at 15 mph. The swell is 4 ft at 7 seconds, and the energy is 152. It’s described as “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions”. That’s the best we’re gonna get. For a break that’s usually very consistent and exposed, this is a quiet spell. The crowds are sometimes a thing here, and with this lack of quality, you’ll have the place pretty much to yourself.

If you’re a beginner, the swell rarely gets above 5 ft until the 13th, but when it does hit 6 ft on the 16th, it’s too big for learning. For the experts, even the bigger days at 6 ft are coming in with short period and poor wind angles, so it’s not going to be the classic La Preciosa experience. The setup is a reef break, so it can handle a bit of size, but the direction is all wrong.

So, bottom line: the best of a bad bunch is the morning of Monday the 17th of August, or maybe the offshore window on Wednesday the 19th of August. Neither is a standout, but it’s all we’ve got. The first 11 days are a write-off, so don’t bother.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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