La Yerbabuena Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the coming weeks for La Yerbabuena.

Honestly, mate, it’s a pretty grim stretch of surf ahead. The charts are showing a long, quiet run with hardly anything to get excited about. The first real surf recommendation doesn’t pop up until the 14th of August, and even then it’s nothing to write home about. For the first ten days or so, we’re looking at tiny, weak, onshore-affected slop. The water’s sitting at 73°F with a temperature anomaly of 0.2°F, so it’s about what you’d expect for this time of year.

Let’s be straight: La Yerbabuena is a point/river setup that’s inconsistent at the best of times, and it’s fairly exposed to the swell. The optimum swell direction is from the SW, but almost everything we’re seeing is coming from the WNW or W. That’s a poor match. The wind is cross-on almost the entire forecast, and the swell heights rarely get above 3 ft. The combined energy is weak, sitting in the double digits for most of it – like 72 (kn) on the 4th of August morning, dropping to 48 (kn) that afternoon. It’s all short-period, choppy junk.

The first glimmer comes on the 14th of August, Friday morning. We see a 3 ft swell from the W, with a period of 6 seconds. The combined energy hits 110 (kn) – finally into the triple digits, but it’s still a short-period, cross-onshore mess. Wind is from the WNW at 12 mph. It’s poor surf. The afternoon drops to 3 ft and 103 (kn) energy, but still cross-on and choppy. For a spot that needs a SW swell to really line up, this is a tough ask.

The 15th of August Saturday morning is a similar story: 3 ft from the W, 6-second period, but the wind is lighter at 6 mph, and there’s some clouds. Still, it’s cross-on and the energy is back down to 81 (kn). Not the one.

The only time the wind flirts with anything decent is on the 11th of August Tuesday morning, when we get a glassy moment with a 3 ft swell from the W. But it’s a short 6-second period, and the energy is only 51 (kn). That’s a weak, gutless wave. It’s a small window of clean-ish conditions, but there’s just not enough push to make it worth the paddle.

Given the combination of tiny swell, cross-wind, and poor quality, and the fact this is a beach-and-river setup, this whole stretch actually looks more interesting for kite surfing than for paddle surfing. There’s just no real stand-out day here. The entire 16-day window is a blank run, and for an area that’s already inconsistent, that’s not unusual. It tends not to stay poor for long, but this time it’s a long wait.

Rusty, signing off.

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