La Santa - El Quemao Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right. Rusty here, looking at what's cookin' for the next couple weeks around La Santa - El Quemao. It's a reef, and it's an expert-only spot. Honestly, it's a tough run of forecasts. We're seeing swell on the charts, but the wind is just going to mess it up constantly.

Looking at the whole picture, the wave energy is all over the place, from a weak 92 (14 July morning) right up to a very strong 1241 (28 July morning). But that energy is meaningless if the wind's got it all chopped up.

Let's get into it. Starting Tuesday, 14 July, the swell comes in at just 3ft from the NNW with a short period of 8 seconds. The wind is blowing cross, and we get "poor surf conditions" with a score of 0. The combined energy is a weak 92. It's not even worth paddling out for.

Wednesday, 15 July, looks similar. Swell is tiny, 2ft in the morning, and though it bumps up to 4ft from the NE in the afternoon, the period drops to a shocking 5 seconds. Energy hits a moderate 118 but it's all wind-slop. Still scoring 0. Not a chance.

Thursday, 16 July, the morning shows a bit more size at 5ft from the NNE, with a 6-second period and moderate energy of 205. But the wind is a fresh cross-shore, and it's lumpy. Still a 0.

The pattern just repeats. Friday, 17 July, swell picks up to 6ft NNE in the morning (energy 358), and Saturday, 18 July, holds at 6ft from the same direction (energy 352). But it's the same story: fresh cross-onshore winds, lumpy. All zero scores.

From Sunday, 19 July, through to Wednesday, 22 July, we get a solid run of 5ft to 6ft swell from the N and NNE. The energies range from 178 to a solid 341. But the wind keeps pumping in from the N or NNE at 18 to 22 mph, all cross-onshore. It's consistently "poor surf conditions."

Now, on Thursday, 23 July, we see a jump. The morning swell hits 8ft from the NNE, with an 8-second period and a strong energy of 711. That afternoon it's 8ft (energy 668). Still, the wind is cross-onshore and it's choppy. Score is 0. Too big for beginners anyway, but even for experts, that wind is a dealbreaker.

The following Friday and Saturday, 24th and 25th July, are more of the same. Swells from 5ft to 7ft, moderate to strong energy. Sunday, 26 July, brings a solid 8ft NNE groundswell with a 9-second period and very strong energy (1141 in the morning, 1045 afternoon). But that wind... still howling cross-onshore. It's a frustrating run.

The big one comes on Monday, 27 July. Swell holds at 8ft NNE, 9-second period, energy of 1042. But the wind switches to a strong cross from the NNE at 25 mph, creating messy cross-chop. Still a 0.

And Tuesday, 28 July, is the biggest forecast. A 10ft NNE swell with a period of 9 seconds and a massive energy of 1241. The wind is a fresh cross-shore at 22 mph, lumpy. That's a big, powerful wave, but the wind will ruin the face. It's an expert wave only at that size, but it won't be clean.

Wednesday, 29 July, drops back to a 8ft NNE swell with energy of 934, and again the cross-onshore wind is a problem.

There's no standout session in this entire period. The wind is the main issue—it's rarely light or offshore. The swell direction for La Santa - El Quemao (Spain) is best from the WNW, and we see it briefly on 16 July afternoon from the WNW, but the swell was tiny (2ft) with only a 45 energy. The rest of the time, the swell is from the NNE or N, which is not the optimum direction.

For any surfer who isn't an expert, the 8ft+ days on 26th, 27th, and 28th July are too big. But for the experts, even those days are blown out. With the consistent strong, cross/cross-onshore winds, the setup at this beach-and-reef spot honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. It's a long, frustrating gap of poor conditions for the foreseeable future.

Rusty.

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