Guethary - Les Alcyons/Avalanche Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. I’ve looked over what’s coming for Guethary’s Les Alcyons/Avalanche, and I’ll be honest—it’s a pretty quiet spell for this expert reef. It needs a solid W swell and offshore SE wind to work, and for most of these 16 days, we’re not getting either. But there is one morning that stands out as a proper session.

Right now through Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday, the swell is tiny—only about 2ft from the N and NNW—with a short, weak period of 6 seconds and combined energy readings under 50 (33 to 46). The wind is onshore from the NW and WNW, so it’s poor and not worth suiting up. That continues into Friday and the weekend: Friday morning has a light cross-onshore breeze and swell barely 2ft, and by Saturday the swell bumps up to 6ft to 8ft from the WNW, but with a fresh 30 km/h cross-onshore wind making it lumpy and poor. The combined energy jumps to 265 and then 588, so there’s power, but the wind ruins it. Sunday sees a similar story: 5ft swell from the NW with onshore breeze, still poor.

Monday the 27th is a bit of a maybe. The swell holds around 5ft from the NW, now with a longer 10-second period and combined energy of 498, but the wind is still cross-onshore from the NNW—only a light breeze in the morning. It’s marginal, not really calling you out.

The standout is Tuesday morning, 28th July. This is the one. The swell is a clean 4ft from the NW, with a solid 10-second period and combined energy of 299—moderate but well-formed. The wind goes glassy, from the ENE at just 5 km/h. For a reef break, glassy conditions are magic. The water is a notably warm 25°C, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year—over 3 degrees above average, very unusual. It’s an expert-only wave, and crowds are often here, but if you’re skilled and pick your peak, Tuesday morning is your window.

After that, things fade. Wednesday the 29th has swell back to 4ft with a shorter 9-second period and cross-onshore wind. Thursday the 30th is similar with onshore breezes, and by the end of the month into early August, the swell is consistently under 3ft with average to poor conditions. There are a couple of mornings on 2nd and 3rd August with glassy conditions (calm wind) but only 3ft to 3ft swell from the WNW—surfable but very ordinary. The combined energies are below 150, so it’s weak. The period drops to 9 seconds, then 8 seconds, lacking any punch. The final stretch from 5th August onwards is more of the same: small, weak, and mostly unsurfable.

Bottom line: this isn’t a classic run for Les Alcyons/Avalanche. The one session that’s worth your time is Tuesday morning 28th July. The rest? I’d keep an eye on the forecast—things can turn around.

Rusty.

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