La Zenia Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cookin' for the next couple of weeks.

First off, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough one. We're looking at a 16-day forecast for La Zenia and it's a story of small, weak, and generally messy conditions. The water is running at a very warm 83° right now, which is a good 7° warmer than usual for this time of year. That's a real standout, almost like a warm bath, but we're not here for the bath, we're here for the waves.

Right from the start, Wednesday the 22nd, we're looking at a tiny 1ft swell from the ENE with a period of just 3 seconds. That's essentially flat with a ripple on it. The combined energy is a measly 3, so there's no power there at all. The wind is a light cross-on from the NE, but it doesn't matter because there's nothing to surf.

We go through a whole run of days with similar stories. Thursday the 23rd, Friday the 24th, all the way through to the end of July, the swell heights are bouncing between 0.3ft and 3ft. The periods are mostly short, under 6 seconds, which means the waves are just weak and crumbly. The energy numbers are all in the low double-digits or single-digits, which is dead flat by any standard.

Then, towards the end of the first week, on Sunday the 26th, we get a tiny flicker of hope. The morning shows a 3ft swell from the NE with a 5-second period. The energy is 51, which is still weak but at least gets into double digits. What makes this one interesting is the glassy conditions. The wind is from the E at 3 mph, creating a silky smooth surface. It's tiny, but it would be clean. Offshore from the WNW is the optimum direction for this reef break, and we're not getting that, but that glassy wind is a major positive. The same goes for the morning of Saturday the 25th, which is also glassy with a small 2ft S swell.

The real standouts, if you can call them that, are the glassy mornings. Saturday the 25th, Sunday the 26th, and even Friday the 31st of July all have glassy conditions in the morning. The swell on the 31st is a 3ft ESE swell, and the energy is 37. It's still small, but on a reef break like La Zenia, a clean, glassy surface is the best you can ask for with these tiny waves. It won't be pumping, but it'll be rideable.

After that, the first week of August looks even more bleak. Swell heights drop to 0.7ft, with periods of 4 seconds. The energy numbers are in the single digits. It's a flat spell, pure and simple.

Looking at the whole 16-day window, there's no period of significant swell. The conditions are dominated by small, short-period windswell and mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds. The only time it gets interesting is when the wind goes glassy, which happens a few times, but the swell is just too small to get excited about. The best of the worst is probably the morning of Sunday the 26th of July, or the morning of Friday the 31st of July. Both offer a clean, glassy surface with a tiny 3ft to 3ft wave. Expect a lot of knee-to-waist-high dribblers, and you'll have to really work for them. La Zenia is an inconsistent reef, and this run is living up to that reputation. It's a real flat spell; don't expect much.

Rusty.

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