La Zenia Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, I'm Rusty.

Alright, look, it's a tough stretch ahead here at La Zenia. The next sixteen days are looking pretty flat and messy for the most part. The water's a scorcher at around 85°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least it'll be a comfortable paddle out when there's something to push you around. For the first week, from Sunday the 16th right through the following Sunday the 23rd, it’s pretty grim. You’re looking at tiny, weak, short-period windslop from the east most days, rarely getting above 3 ft, and the wind is almost constantly onshore or cross-onshore. That's just choppy, bumpy, no-good surf. There's a brief moment on Tuesday the 18th morning when it goes glassy, but with the wave height only 2 ft and a combined energy of just 20, it’s not worth paddling out for.

The first real sniff of anything worth getting wet for shows up on Sunday morning, August 23rd. The swell bumps up to 3 ft from the ESE with a combined energy of 61, and it goes glassy. The wave comment finally turns from "poor" to "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions," so you could probably find a soft, clean little wave on the inside, but it’s uninspiring.

Then we hit a more interesting window starting Monday morning, August 24th. The swell holds at 3 ft from the east, period still short at 6 seconds, but the wind goes offshore from the WNW. That’s clean. The combined energy is 63, and for a reef break like La Zenia, that offshore flow will clean it right up. It's still not big, but it's surfable. The crowds here are "often," so don't expect to have it to yourself, and hey, the swell direction from the east lines up with the optimum for this place. The best of a quiet bunch is that Monday morning session on the 24th.

A few other days pop up with clean conditions and small swell – like Friday morning, August 28th, with a 3 ft east swell and combined energy of 73 under a light offshore wind – but nothing really gets the heart pumping. There's a spike on Sunday morning, August 30th, with the swell hitting 4 ft from the east and the combined energy jumping to 185, which is moderate wave energy, but the wind is light cross-shore, so it’s not glassy. It’s a bigger, more powerful wave, but the setup won't be perfect.

The bottom line: if you're desperate for a paddle, point to Monday the 24th morning or Friday the 28th morning for the cleanest, most rideable little waves. Otherwise, it's a waiting game for a proper pulse of swell.

- Rusty

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