Playa Samara Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a long look at what's happening at our local wave. It's a bit of a slow start, but there's some proper magic brewing if you're patient.

The overall pattern is a slow, steady pulse of south-west swell that builds through the end of August and the first week of September. The start is pretty marginal, but by the end of the first week, we’ve got some standouts. There’s a real gap of nothing special early on, so keep your expectations in check until we hit Thursday the 4th.

Right now, on Sunday the 30th of August, it’s a bit average. Playa Samara is seeing a 5ft swell from the SW, but the cross-on wind is messing it up. The water's a balmy 87°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – a very unusual 4°F anomaly, so you can leave the wetsuit at home. The wave energy is moderate, coming in at 878. It's surfable, but don't expect clean perfection.

Monday the 31st offers a real tease. The morning is glassy with a 4ft SW swell and a period of 13 seconds, and that’s the pick of the early days. But it drops off hard in the afternoon when the wind swings onshore.

Tuesday morning the 1st of September is another glassy start, with a 3ft SW swell, but it's small. The afternoon turns poor again.

Wednesday morning the 2nd is interesting. It’s glassy calm with a tiny 2ft swell, but the period stretches way out to 18 seconds. That’s a very long period groundswell, and the energy jumps up to a moderate 527. This is the kind of day where a point break or a reef might turn a tiny swell into something fun and lined up, but at a beach break it might just roll straight through. Still, worth a look for the uber-patient.

Now, Thursday the 4th of September is the first true standout. The morning session is the one to aim for. We’re looking at a clean 5ft SW swell with a solid 17-second period and the wind is glassy – dead calm. The combined energy really kicks into gear at 1471, which is a strong, powerful push. For experienced surfers, this is going to be excellent. The early bird gets the cleanest waves here.

Friday the 5th of September morning is almost as good. A slightly bigger 6ft swell from the SW, still with a long 16-second period and glassy offshore winds from the SE. The energy is strong at 1616. This is bigger, so if you're not confident in the water, maybe sit this one out. For the crew who know what they're doing, it’s going to be pumping.

After that, the swell eases back down through the second week. There are plenty of glassy mornings from the 7th through the 11th of September with clean, small waves in the 3ft to 4ft range. The water stays warm and the conditions are consistently good for fun, smaller waves. The best of those later mornings is probably Thursday the 10th of September with a 4ft SW swell at 15 seconds and glassy winds. It's not a stand-out like the 4th and 5th, but a very solid fun-size day.

The run from the 12th of September onward really tails off. The swell drops to under 3ft, and the wind turns messy. You’re not missing anything if you take a break then.

So, to sum it up: the first three days are a write-off for any quality. The real gold is Thursday the 4th and Friday the 5th of September mornings. Those are the ones to circle on the calendar – potential perfection for the experienced crew. After that, look for the glassy windows in the second week for a fun paddle in smaller, cleaner surf.

Stay stoked, catch you in the water.

Rusty.

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