Playa Pantaleta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a good hard look at what’s on offer.

Honestly, mates, it’s a bit of a tough stretch ahead for Playa Pantaleta. The whole 16-day window is looking pretty average, with nothing to get truly excited about. We’ve got a constant cross-shore wind from the east, which is going to mess up the surface most days. The swell is coming from the ENE, which isn’t a great match for this spot—it really prefers a NNE direction. The water’s sitting at a warm 82°F, which is bang on average for this time of year, so that’s one thing that’s not out of whack.

Right off the bat, from Monday the 7th of September through the rest of the week, it’s the same old story: waist-high swell around 4ft to 5ft with a short period, and that cross-shore wind chopping things up. Wave energy is weak to moderate in the 100-200 range. It's just not going to be clean. Even when the swell pushes up to 6ft on Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th, with energy reading 337 and 319, the wind is still onshore/cross-shore, so it’ll be a bumpy, pretty ordinary wave. For the intermediate surfer, it’s going to feel like a chore.

There’s a slight dip in size going into the middle of the month, with things dropping to around 3ft to 4ft from the 14th through the 17th. Still cross-shore winds. Not much to write home about. The energy drops right down into the 70s and 80s, which is weak. The forecast is pretty locked in for this kind of poor quality, so there’s not a lot of hope for surprise clean windows.

As we head into the week starting the 18th, we see a bit of a pulse again on the 18th and 19th of September, with the swell bumping back to 4ft to 4ft and energy hitting 174 and 155. But once again, it’s that same ENE wind with a cross-shore component. The period is still short at 6 seconds. It’s just not going to shape up well.

If I had to call out the “best” of this lacklustre bunch, it would be the Thursday the 10th of September afternoon, when the wind drops to a light breeze (6 mph), making the cross-chop less severe. The swell is 4ft from the ENE. It’s not glassy, but it’s the least messy. Also, on the 22nd of September morning, there’s a 5ft ENE swell with moderate energy (182) and a short period, but again that cross-shore wind ruins it for clean paddling.

So, what’s the verdict? There’s no standout session. The wind direction just won’t cooperate for Playa Pantaleta during this whole forecast window. It’s a beach and reef setup that cops it from the east, and that NNE optimum swell direction is nowhere to be seen. Crowds can pack in here sometimes, but with this quality, I reckon you’ll have plenty of space. For paddle surfing, this whole run is pretty dismal. If the wind holds like this, it might be more interesting for the kite surfers out there.

Stay patient, lads. It can’t stay like this forever.

Rusty.

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