Barinatxe - La Salvaje Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a long, hard look at the charts for the next couple of weeks. It’s a quiet stretch ahead, so don’t go getting your hopes up too high.

First up, the water at Barinatxe - La Salvaje is sitting at 74°F right now, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s a nice surprise if you’re paddling out, but the surf itself? Man, it’s a tough watch.

We’re looking at a solid stretch of nothingness to kick things off. From Thursday the 6th all the way through to Tuesday the 18th, the call is consistently “poor surf conditions.” That’s nearly two weeks of flat, weak, or messy waves. The combined swell energy is mostly in the double digits or just barely cracking triple digits, which is weak to marginal at best. A few mornings have glassy conditions, like Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th, but the swell is tiny – 2 ft at best, and with short periods around 5 to 8 seconds, there’s just no push. The wind is light or glassy, so it’s clean, but there’s nothing to ride.

Even when the swell tries to pick up around Tuesday the 18th, with heights hitting 4 ft and combined energy up to 168, the winds are onshore or cross-onshore, chopping it up. Not worth the paddle.

The first real glimmer of hope doesn’t come until Wednesday the 19th of August. The morning shows a glassy start with light easterly winds, 3 ft of swell from the NNW, and a short period of 7 seconds. The combined energy is only 82, so it’s weak, but at least it’s surfable. The score is a 1 out of 10, which is better than all the zeros we’ve been seeing. It’s not a standout, but it’s the only window where you might get a few small, clean waves if you’re desperate.

After that, we’re back to small, weak, or onshore junk through the 20th and 21st. The 20th of August morning has a glassy 1 ft swell with a 12-second period, which is nice and long, but the energy is only 73 – too small to do much with.

So, the honest truth? There’s no single standout session in this 16-day window. The whole run is a write-off for quality surf. For an exposed beach-and-reef spot like La Salvaje, the setups look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those days when the wind is up and the swell is weak. We’ll have to wait for the forecasts to change.

Rusty, signing off.

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