Playa Santa Catalina Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, looking at the outlook for Playa Santa Catalina over the next sixteen days. The first week is gonna be a bit of a mixed bag, nothing too special, but for those who can wait, there's a really good-looking window opening up towards the end.

We start off with a bit of a fizzle. Monday afternoon the 27th is a write-off with a cross-on breeze messing up the 2-foot swell. Energy’s moderate at 583, and the water is a touch warmer than normal at 85° for this time of year.

The first real glimmer of hope comes on Tuesday the 28th of July. We score a clean, cross-off wind from the NNE with a nice jump in swell to 4 feet from the SSW. The energy is solid (985) and the setup is clean. This is your best bet for the first few days, with similar conditions carrying into Wednesday morning the 29th with a 4-foot SSW swell (736 energy). Thursday morning the 30th also serves up clean waves under offshore winds, but the swell dips to 3 feet. After that, it gets a bit choppy and inconsistent through the start of August, with the swell dropping towards 2 feet and 2 feet by the 5th. The wind is glassy or clean in the mornings, but the energy is low (under 250).

Now, for the real standout. If you can hold out, the period starting Friday the 7th of August looks promising. We see a new pulse of long-period groundswell arriving that morning. It’s only 2 feet, but the period jumps to 18 seconds and the energy is moderate at 299. The wind is offshore from the NNE, making for clean conditions. This is a sign of things to come.

But the absolute winner of the whole outlook is Tuesday the 11th of August. The morning session will be firing. We’re looking at a clean 3-foot SSW groundswell with a 13-second period. The combined energy is strong at 632, and the wind is offshore from the NNE. This is textbook point-break conditions. Then, get this, Tuesday afternoon the wind goes glassy with a 2-foot swell and a 20-second period! The energy pumps up to 712. That’s a very long period groundswell, meaning the waves will have real shape and power, and it’s glassy on top of it. This is the one to mark on your calendar. A long-period swell like that will be peeling perfectly down this point. The water’s going to be fantastic for swimming too, and since it’s a consistent spot that’s also sometimes busy, expect a few others with the same idea on that Tuesday.

Don’t bother with anything in the afternoons; the sea breeze usually messes it up. The 11th of August is the clear standout. Get on it.

Rusty.

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