La Santa - El Quemao Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.

We’re looking at a pretty grim stretch ahead, I’m not gonna lie. The whole 16-day window is a write-off for decent surf. There’s no standout session, no hidden gem, nothing to get excited about. The first real chance for a wave doesn’t even pop up on the radar until the very end, and even then it’s a no-go.

The main problem is the wind. Nearly every day we’ve got a fresh breeze from the north or north-northeast, blowing cross-on or cross-onshore all day long. That’s gonna put a nasty chop and lumpy mess on any swell that tries to show up. The swell itself is mostly short-period windswell, under 8 seconds, and the direction is almost always from the north-northeast, which is the exact opposite of the optimum direction for the spot.

For the first week, from Monday the 3rd right through to Sunday the 9th, the swell is small and weak. The combined wave energy is mostly in the low two-digit range, barely reaching 100 on Wednesday the 5th afternoon (88). It’s just not worth paddling out for that weak, short-period bump with the wind making it a washing machine. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

Things get a bit more interesting from Thursday the 6th, with the swell jumping up to 8 ft, but the energy ramps up quickly into the strong range (655) and the period stays short at 8 seconds. That’s a lot of lumpy, wind-affected northern swell. At 8 ft, it’s borderline for experts only, but with the wind being so poor, it’s just messy. The combined energy for the rest of the week hangs around the 400-500 range, which is moderate to strong, but the wind just ruins it.

The second week is more of the same. From Monday the 10th through to Sunday the 16th, it’s a constant barrage of north-northeast windswell, 5 ft to 7 ft, with the same cross-onshore wind. The energy stays in the 200-500 range, but the period is short, the wind is wrong, and the conditions are described as “poor” every single time. Not a single session worth mentioning.

The only real highlight, if you can call it that, is La Santa – El Quemao (Lanzarote). It’s a heavy, expert-only reef break that’s consistent and often has crowds. It’s an exposed spot that loves a good WNW groundswell, but we’re getting none of that. The swell we are getting is from the NNE, which is the wrong direction, so the waves won’t wrap in properly. The optimum swell direction is WNW, so this entire forecast is a miss for this spot.

Honestly, the whole setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, especially when the wind is howling. There’s a good 16-day gap of nothing but poor surf. It’s a blank run, but for this area, that’s not unusual. Forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a hard pass.

Rusty

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