La Yerbabuena Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's happening at La Yerbabuena. I've gotta be straight with you—this is a tough stretch ahead. This spot is a point and river setup that breaks best with a SW swell, but we're just not getting that at all in the coming days. The swell we do get is small, short-period, and almost always coming from the wrong direction, which keeps things pretty flat and messy most of the time.

We kick off Sunday, the 9th of August, and honestly, there's hardly a ripple worth paddling for. Tiny swell around 2ft from the west, but with a cross-onshore wind, it's just chopped up and weak, with combined wave energy sitting at a low 39. It's a write-off. Monday and Tuesday are more of the same—small, weak, and onshore. Tuesday morning, the 11th, does go glassy for a bit, but the swell is still a pathetic 2ft from the west with a 6-second period and combined energy of just 38. The water temp is sitting at a normal 74°, nothing unusual there.

There's a glimmer of hope on Thursday, the 13th of August, and that's about the only highlight in the whole run. The morning, conditions turn glassy and we get a bit of a bump from the WNW, still only 2ft, but the period stretches to 9 seconds and the combined energy hits 88. It's still not pumping, but it's the cleanest the waves will be all week. The swell direction is WNW, which is a bit off the optimum SW, but it’s the best we’ve got. The afternoon stays glassy too with similar size and energy at 84. If you're desperate for a slide, that Thursday is your window.

After that, it’s back to the same old story. Friday the 14th through to the end of the period is a long, grim run of weak swell, onshore and cross-onshore winds, and tiny waves that never break 3ft. Saturday the 15th sees a pulse of 3ft from the west with combined energy hitting 134, but it's still small and crossed-up. The swell direction is wrong, the period is short at 8 seconds, and the wind is cross-onshore. It's not going to be pretty.

For a spot that's inconsistent at the best of times, this is a particularly blank run. There are gaps of days here where you wouldn't even bother taking your board out of the car. The only real standout, if you can call it that, is Thursday morning, the 13th of August, at La Yerbabuena. It'll be small, clean, and glassy—which is a rare treat here given the usual onshore flow. Don't expect much power, but you might find a fun little wave with no crowd to fight for it, given it's often busy here.

Rusty.

Read more