La Santa - El Quemao Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Grab your board, but don't get your hopes up too high just yet. We're looking at La Santa - El Quemao, a heavy reef break that takes an expert to handle, and honestly, the next couple of weeks are looking like a battle with the wind. The water's sitting at a comfortable 75°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – a little silver lining.

Right from Thursday the 27th, it's not pretty. We've got a NNE wind blowing 19 mph straight across the waves, making everything lumpy and poor. Thursday morning sees a weak 3 ft swell from the north with a short, weak period of 4 seconds and combined energy of just 40 – that's barely a bump. It stays poor all day, and that's the story right through the first week.

Friday the 28th brings a bit more size, hitting 7 ft to 8 ft from the NNE, but the wind is still a strong cross-shore mess at 22 to 25 mph, creating a nasty cross-chop. The energy picks up into the hundreds (330 to 665), but it doesn't matter with that wind.

Saturday the 29th is the only real standout in the whole run, but it's still a cruel tease. The morning has a solid 8 ft from the north with a long period of 11 seconds, and the combined energy is pumping hard at 1997 – that's serious grunt. But the NNE wind is still hammering it at 22 mph, turning a potentially epic session into a messy, lumpy cross-shore slop. This is an expert wave on its best day, and with the wind, it's just frustrating. The afternoon drops to 6 ft with that same long period but still cross and windy.

The rest of the first week and into the second is more of the same. Sunday the 30th through to Wednesday the 4th of September, the swell hangs around 6 ft to 7 ft, but that persistent NNE wind keeps it cross-onshore and choppy. The energy stays moderate to strong (287 to 679), but the quality is missing.

A glimmer of hope shows up on Friday the 4th of September afternoon, when the wind swings to the NNW at 9 mph and goes offshore. The swell is 5 ft from the north with an 8-second period, and energy at 229. Still, the surf conditions are called poor, so it's not the clean groomed wave we'd hope for.

Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of September see the wind holding offshore from the NW at 9 to 12 mph, but the swell drops right back to 3 ft to 4 ft with short 7-second periods and weak energy (145 to 170). It's rideable but nothing to write home about.

Monday the 7th of September is a letdown – the swell fades further to 2 ft to 3 ft from the NNW, and even with a long 11-second period giving it 173 to 201 energy, the cross-onshore wind ruins it.

From Tuesday the 8th through to the end of the forecast on Thursday the 11th of September, we're stuck with weak, short-period swell from the north at 4 ft to 5 ft, periods of 6 seconds, and moderate but messy energy (210 to 291). The wind is mostly cross-onshore, and the best we get is a "marginal" call on the 9th and 11th. Honestly, for a spot this heavy, the backpack is staying on. The first week is a write-off, and the second week only offers a few brief moments where you could get wet, but nothing clean.

Rusty.

Read more