La Santa - El Quemao Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, ol' Rusty here. Let's have a look at the charts for the next couple of weeks. We've only got one spot on the menu this time, a proper heavyweight slab.

First up, we're looking at La Santa - El Quemao. The water is sitting at a warm 75°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for us right now, so you can leave the thick rubber at home.

Right out of the gate, and for the next week straight, we are in a holding pattern of frustration. From Sunday the 6th right through to the 12th, this place is getting hammered by a fresh cross-onshore wind. Swell is there, between 5 ft and 7 ft, and the energy is pumping – we're talking between 344 and 712 combined energy – but it's all blown out. It's lumpy, choppy, and just plain ugly. The wind is coming straight from the N or NNE, completely ruining the party. It’s a tough look for a wave as heavy as this.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. There’s a massive gap and then a brief window opens on the morning of Saturday the 13th. The wind swings around to a light SE offshore, only 3 mph, and things go clean. The swell drops a bit to 4 ft from the north with a moderate energy reading of 236, but with those clean conditions, this is your standout. This is the real deal. For a short window, that gnarly reef will have some shape on it. It won't be huge, but it'll be clean, and with the wave's reputation, a clean 4 ft day is worth chasing. The afternoon goes glassy, but the swell backs off to 4 ft, so the morning is the call.

The following Monday the 14th sees some long-period groundswell pushing in – we're looking at 13 and 14 seconds from the NNW, which is a good sign for this kind of reef break. The energy jumps back up to 383 and 417, with wave heights around 3 ft, so there’s some push. The caveat is a light cross-onshore wind means it won't be perfect, but it's a step up from the crap we've been seeing. It's a marginal call, but for the wave-starved, it’s worth a look.

After that, it's back to mediocrity. From the 15th all the way to the end of the run on the 21st, it’s a long, boring stretch of cross-onshore wind and weak, poor-quality surf. The energy drops off to almost nothing, and the swell just isn't there in any meaningful way. The wind is relentless from the north. It’s pretty bleak. The setup is far more interesting for a kite than a surfboard on most of these days.

So, to put a bow on it: the whole first week is a write-off. The one true standout, your only real hope, is the morning session on Saturday, 13th September. Get it while it's clean. Everything else in the 16-day window is a pass unless you're desperate for a paddle in lumpy junk.

Rusty.

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