Linda Mar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s shaping up on our local stretch, specifically Linda Mar.

To be straight with you, the next couple of weeks are looking pretty average for Linda Mar. The water is sitting at 60°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – a solid 4° above average, so you might not even need a full wetsuit. But the surf? It’s a tough watch for a while.

The outlook starts off poor. Tuesday the 14th only gives us 4ft to 5ft of short-period, weak windswell from the WNW, with a cross-onshore breeze and a weak combined energy of only 193. It’s just messy. Wednesday the 15th bumps up a bit to 6ft in the morning, but with a 9 mph cross-onshore it’s still choppy. By Thursday the 16th it’s getting bigger, hitting 8ft to 10ft, but the wind is nasty and the energy jumps to 1133 – that’s a lot of power, but it’s all short-period windswell with a brutal cross-onshore. That’s expert-only, and honestly, it looks more like a kitesurfing session than a paddle session.

A short period of relief comes Friday the 18th and into the weekend, but the swell drops right off. We’re down to 2ft on Saturday the 18th. The period jumps to 16 seconds, which is a long groundswell, but it’s barely breaking at a beach break like Linda Mar – those long-period swells just go straight. The energy is still moderate (713), but the quality is poor.

The real lull hits from Sunday the 20th through to about Thursday the 24th. Swell sizes are tiny, mostly 2ft to 3ft, with cross-onshore winds and weak energy. It’s a real blank run. There’s nothing worth paddling out for.

The first true standout comes on Monday the 27th of July. The morning session looks promising. We’ve got a 6ft NW groundswell (9 sec period), but the wind is finally a light cross-offshore from the SSW. For the first time in this forecast, the conditions are described as “clean.” The energy is strong at 925. This is your best bet – a solid head-high wave with proper shape and clean faces. The wind will be light, so expect good lines.

Wednesday the 29th of July morning also looks good. Another 5ft NW swell (8 sec period), with a clean cross-offshore breeze. The energy is 637, and the forecast says “expect very good surf conditions.” This is a solid runner-up, but the Monday morning is the pick of the litter.

Outside of those two windows, the rest of the forecast is a mix of onshore chop and tiny, weak waves. The long-range stuff on the 29th is promising, but it’s a long way off, so keep your fingers crossed.

Rusty.

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