La Preciosa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough run. The next week and a half is looking pretty grim. We’ve got a constant stream of east and east-northeast swell, but it’s all short-period, windswell stuff, mostly around 8 seconds or less. That means weak, lumpy waves that just don’t have any punch. On top of that, the wind is almost always a cross-offshore breeze, which is okay for a clean face, but the swell quality is just poor. The surf conditions are consistently rated as poor right through to the end of July and into the first few days of August. The combined energy is moderate, bouncing between 100 and 300, but it’s not translating into any kind of quality ride.

The first real glimmer of hope comes on the morning of Thursday, 30th July. We get a shift with an offshore wind from the ESE at 12 mph, and the forecast actually mentions "expect good surf conditions". The swell is a clean 5 ft from the east with an 8-second period, and the energy jumps up to 233. It’s still not a groundswell, but that offshore wind is a major positive – it’ll groom the faces nicely. For a short window, La Preciosa will be the place to be. That Thursday morning is the standout of the whole outlook.

After that, we slide back into a long stretch of poor surf, with a quick mention of a "marginal" Saturday morning on the 1st of August, and then a "surfable but very ordinary" Sunday morning on the 2nd of August. The wind is cross-off again, so it’s not terrible, but it’s not good. The swell holds around 4 ft to 5 ft, but the period drops to 7 seconds, and the energy is moderate.

The final week is pretty much a write-off. The swell drops to 3 ft and then 2 ft with a period of 6 seconds, and the energy fades to just 48. The wind is cross-off all the way. There’s a final mention of "surfable but very ordinary" on the morning of Friday, 7th August, with a 3 ft, 7-second east swell and an offshore wind, but it’s a long way out and the energy is low. It’s not a standout.

For a beginner, the swell never goes over 5 ft, so it’s not too big, but the short period and poor quality make it a tough learning environment. For an expert, there’s nothing here that’s over 8 ft, and the lack of power means it’s pretty boring. If you’re a kite surfer, the strong cross-off winds and the clean, weak, small waves might actually look more interesting than a paddle session.

To sum it up: the only real, honest-to-goodness window to get excited about is the morning of Thursday, 30th July. Get on it. Everything else is a long, frustrating wait.

Rusty.

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