Montanita Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it's Rusty here. Let me be straight with you – this forecast for our stretch of coast is one of those ones that'll really test your patience. We've got a long, drawn-out run of small, weak, and mostly onshore swell with barely anything worth paddling out for. It's one of those blank runs that can happen around here when the ocean just switches off.

The only spot on the radar is Montanita, a reef and point set-up that typically needs a good SW groundswell to work. For the next two weeks, we're just not getting that.

Let's run through it. Things kick off on Friday the 10th of July. The ocean's got a 3ft SW swell, but the period is a long 16 seconds, so it's got that groundswell energy. On paper, the combined swell energy is sitting around 509 (moderate wave energy), which sounds alright, but the wind is a mess. We've got a SSW and SW breeze putting us in a cross-on to onshore position all day. The water is a balmy 79°, which is a whopping 7° warmer than normal – very unusual for this time of year – but that's about the only exciting thing in the water right now. Conditions are marginal at best.

Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th? Even worse. The swell drops below 3ft and the period shortens, with that same cross-onshore wind messing up any chance of a decent face. The combined energy has tanked to the 240-370 range (weak to low-moderate wave energy). It's a write-off.

The whole first week is pretty much the same story. We bounce between 2ft and 3ft of SW swell with periods between 12 and 14 seconds. Every single morning has light cross-onshore winds and those afternoons switch to onshore. The combined energy sticks in the low to mid 200s range (weak wave energy). There's zero standout conditions. For a break like Montanita, which is a point and reef set up, these short-period, wind-affected waves just won't hold their shape.

The second week isn't giving us any relief. From the 19th of July onwards, it's the same grind. Swells wobble between 2ft and 4ft, but the period drops into that 9 to 13 second range. A period of 9 or 10 seconds is short, meaning those waves are going to be weak and crumbly. The combined energy never really gets back into the "good" zone. The wind stays onshore or cross-onshore as usual. There's just no window where it all comes together.

Look, at Montanita, being an exposed SW spot, we need a proper SW groundswell with clean offshore winds to make it peel. We aren't getting that in this entire 16-day run. There's nothing to get excited about. We'll have to wait for the next weather pattern to push through.

Rusty, signing off.

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