Playa Santa Catalina Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Playa Santa Catalina.

We’ve got a steady pulse of long-period SSW groundswell running through the whole forecast, and being a very consistent, exposed point break that loves that direction, the setup is promising. The water is 86° – a touch warmer than usual for this time of year – so you can leave the thick rubber at home.

First proper surf kicks off on Tuesday the 8th. It’s small, only 2ft, but that’s a solid 16-second period groundswell with moderate energy (336). The wind is a cross-offshore from the NNE, keeping it clean. It’s small but clean. Not a standout, but a good start.

Wednesday morning the 9th is where it starts to get interesting. The swell edges up to 2ft, still 16 seconds, and the wind goes glassy – dead calm from the NW. That’s about as good as it gets for clean conditions. Combined energy is moderate (379), and the wave quality is looking glassy. This is a real gem of a session if you can get out.

Thursday the 10th morning brings the best of the first week. Swell bumps up to 2ft from the SW, period jumps to 18 seconds (that’s proper groundswell) and the energy is climbing into the moderate-to-strong range (525). WNW cross-offshore wind keeps the face clean. For a point break, that long period is a dream – it’ll wrap in and offer those long, peeling lines. This is the standout of the first few days.

The rest of the first week and into the second remains small: 2ft to 3ft, with that same long-period SSW pulse fading slightly. Friday morning the 11th is clean with a 3ft, 16-second swell and NE cross-offshore wind, but afternoons tend to get ruined by onshore SSW wind. Saturday morning the 12th is glassy again, with 2ft and 14-second swell – clean and fun.

From Sunday the 13th through to the end of the forecast, the size drops a little more: mostly 1ft to 2ft, but the period stays decent, often 14 to 19 seconds – that’s still long-period groundswell. The real highlight in the second week is Wednesday the 16th morning: 3ft, 16-second swell with a light ENE cross-offshore wind, energy moderate to strong (496). Thursday the 17th morning is also excellent with 3ft, 14-second swell and flat calm glassy conditions – dead calm.

Later, Saturday the 19th afternoon has a clean 2ft, 13-second wave with a cross-offshore W wind, and Sunday the 20th morning sees 1ft but a very long 19-second period, glassy – a proper glass-out session.

Overall, there’s no big swell here, but the consistency and quality of the wind and wave period mean there are plenty of clean, fun waves. The best conditions are on Wednesday the 9th morning (glassy, 2ft), Thursday the 10th morning (clean, 2ft, 18s), and Thursday the 17th morning (glassy, 3ft, 14s). The standout? Thursday the 10th morning – that 18-second period with cross-offshore wind is exactly what this point wants.

If you’re a beginner, these sizes are perfect; the 3ft days are still very manageable. Only experts will care about the longer period, but on a point break it’s pure gold.

It’s a solid run of small but clean surf – nothing huge, but plenty to keep the stoke alive.

Rusty.

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