Playa Pantaleta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cooking at Playa Pantaleta.

Honestly, it's a tough stretch ahead for this spot. The whole 16-day window is plagued by a persistent cross-shore wind from the east and east-northeast. That breeze, blowing at 9 to 12 mph for most of it, is just chopping up the surface, making conditions pretty ordinary. There’s no standout swell event on the horizon, and the energy levels are mostly moderate, with the combined swell energy sitting between 91 and 247. For a beach and reef set-up, this cross-chop is a real killer. The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is about average for this time of year.

We start off with basically nothing. From Monday the 24th of August right through until Saturday the 29th, the surf is tiny and the wind is messy. We’re looking at waves around 2 ft to 4 ft, with a short period of just 6 to 7 seconds, coming mostly from the ENE, which isn't the optimum NNE direction. The forecast is calling it “poor surf conditions” with a score of zero.

The first slight glimmer shows up on Saturday the 29th of August in the afternoon. The wind finally eases to a light 6 mph from the ESE, turning into a cross-offshore breeze. The waves are still small, around 3 ft from the ENE (6-second period), and the combined energy is weak at 96, but it will be clean. It's surfable, but it's very ordinary. This is the best it’s going to get in the near term.

After that, it's back to the same old story. Sunday the 30th through to Thursday the 3rd of September sees the swell bumping up slightly to 4 ft to 5 ft, but the cross-wind is back with a vengeance. We get a few more clean afternoons on Tuesday the 1st and Wednesday the 2nd of September with that light cross-offshore breeze again, with waves around 2 ft to 4 ft. It’s a tease, but nothing worth getting excited about.

Moving into the second week, the pattern holds. From Friday the 4th of September to Monday the 8th of September, it's more of the same: 4 ft to 5 ft of short-period ENE swell, mixed with a moderate cross-wind. The energy does climb a bit, hitting 247 on the 8th, but the quality just isn't there with the chop.

The standout, if you can call it that, is Saturday the 29th of August afternoon, and then again on Tuesday the 1st and Wednesday the 2nd of September afternoons. These are the only times the wind cooperates enough to offer a clean face on those small, ordinary waves. Don't expect any power; the period is short and the swell is weak. It's a last-resort paddle for some shoulder-high mush.

For the most part, this entire stretch looks pretty bleak. Honestly, with the persistent onshore chop and average swell, this beach and reef set-up looks more interesting for a kite session than a proper surf. The ocean is just not giving us anything to work with here.

Rusty.

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