Playa de Gaztetape Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming our way for Playa de Gaztetape over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a pretty quiet run for a while, and we’ve got a long wait on our hands.

The first real sniff of anything is way off. We’re looking at a big gap with barely a ripple. The early days are all flat, tiny, or just messy. The first time there’s anything with a bit of shape to it is Friday the 10th in the arvo. We’re talking small stuff, around 3ft from the NW, with a period of 10 seconds. The wind goes glassy, which is lovely for the surface, but the combined energy is only moderate (108). It’s surfable, but honestly, it’s very ordinary.

That pattern of small, clean but weak surf carries on. Saturday the 11th sees a bit more energy in the water (118), but the wind turns cross-on and chops it up. Sunday the 12th morning goes glassy again with a 2ft WNW swell (82), but it’s still just a dribbler.

The real standout, and the only one worth getting excited about, is Saturday the 18th. That morning is the pick of the whole outlook. We get a glassy session with a clean 4ft WNW swell pushing in with a solid moderate energy reading (138). The wind is glass, so it’ll be clean. That’s the one to circle on the calendar. It’s not huge, but it’s the best combination of size, period, and wind we get.

After that, things get a bit messy. Sunday the 19th sees the swell kick up to 6ft from the NW (429), but it’s crossed-up and choppy with onshore wind. That’s more of a fight than a joy. Monday the 20th morning has a proper 7ft NW swell (560), but the wind is cross-shore and it looks marginal. That afternoon, the wind jumps to 19 mph from the WNW, making it a lumpy, onshore mess – honestly, that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. That kind of size with that wind isn't fun on a surfboard.

Tuesday the 21st keeps the size up around 8ft (887), but it’s raining, cross-shore, and messy. Not what you want.

So, the long and short of it: the first week is a washout with tiny, weak swell. Your best bet is the morning of Saturday, 18th July. It’s a glassy, clean, moderate-energy day with a waist-to-chest high WNW groundswell. Heads up though, this spot can get crowded sometimes, so get down early. For a beginner spot, the size that morning is fine, but the bigger stuff later in the month (over 7ft) is for the experienced crew only.

Keep an eye on the forecasts – it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty.

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