Palos Verde - Bluff Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Palos Verde - Bluff Cove.

First thing you’ll notice is the water. It’s way warmer than usual for this time of year, coming in at 69°F – that’s a solid 4°F above average, so you can leave the thick rubber at home.

The outlook is a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got a long, drawn-out period of very small surf. The first week is mostly a write-off for anything exciting. The swell is running tiny, mostly around 2ft from the SSW, with a long period of 15 seconds. That’s proper groundswell, and at Bluff Cove, a reef setup, that long period should actually wrap in nicely and give you some shape. But the problem is the size – it’s just not enough to get the blood pumping. The combined wave energy is weak, sitting around 200-230 for most of it. The wind is also a bit of a pest, hanging in the cross-off or cross zone most days, which keeps it clean but not glassy. Saturday afternoon (11 July) and Sunday afternoon (12 July) are particularly poor with cross-onshore winds messing things up.

Now, there’s a gap in the middle of the week where the swell drops even further. From Monday the 14th through to Friday the 17th, we’re looking at waves around 1ft to 1ft. The energy really goes flat, down to 110-167. A few mornings, like Thursday the 16th, have a clean offshore breeze, but there’s just no power behind it. You’d be bobbing around more than surfing.

The one standout, the only real glimpse of something decent, is the morning of Saturday the 18th of July. Now that’s worth circling on the calendar. The wind goes light offshore from the SSE, the swell holds at 2ft from the SW with a solid 18-second period, and the combined energy jumps up to 282. That’s moderate energy and the best we’ll see in this entire run. The conditions are clean, and the long period groundswell will love that Bluff Cove reef. It’s not gonna be huge, but it’ll be the most fun you’ll have in the 16-day window. Expect it to be a bit inconsistent between sets, but the quality will be there. Crowds are likely here, so get there early.

The rest of the second week drops back into the same story: small, ordinary waves, and the wind often ruining things by the afternoon. The 20th of July has a clean offshore morning, but the swell is still small. The 25th of July looks like a bit of a pulse of energy, but the cross-shore winds will chop it up.

So, bottom line: it’s a tough two weeks for anything big. The best session is definitely Saturday the 18th of July for a clean, lined-up, long-period swell. Everything else is for the die-hards or the beginners.

Rusty.

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