Playa de Gaztetape Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the next 16 days are a real test of patience. We’ve got a long, flat spell ahead, so don’t be in a rush to wax your board.

The only spot in the game is Playa de Gaztetape, but it’s a tough one. The water is sitting at 75°F – that’s much warmer than normal for this time of year, about 5°F above average, which is already a notable anomaly.

We start with Wednesday the 29th of July, and honestly, it’s a poor start. A weak 3ft NW swell is pushing in, but it’s a short-period 9-second windswell with a combined energy of only 117 (moderate), and the wind is a light cross-onshore breeze. The face is chopped up with small wind ripples. Not a wave worth paddling for.

That same limp pattern drags through the rest of the week. Thursday the 30th sees the swell drop to 2ft-3ft, period drops to 8 seconds, and the wind turns onshore. It’s all poor. Friday the 31st offers a glimmer with a morning glass-off, but the swell is only 2ft and weak, energy down to 64. Still labelled poor surf conditions. The weekend of the 1st and 2nd of August is more of the same – tiny, weak, and inconsistent.

The first full week of August is a total scratch. From Monday the 3rd right through to Saturday the 9th, the swell barely lifts a ripple. Heights hover between 0.7ft and 1ft, with combined energy often in the teens or twenties. You’ll see some glassy mornings, but with no swell to speak of, it’s a lake. There’s a gap of nearly a week with absolutely nothing rideable.

Finally, on Sunday the 9th of August, we get a tiny pulse. The morning goes glassy with a 2ft, 5-second NW windswell, but the energy is only 39 – still very weak. The afternoon turns choppy with a 12 mph cross-onshore wind. Still poor.

The only real standout in the whole window arrives on Monday the 10th of August. We get a bump in swell to 3ft from the NW, with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 138 (moderate). The wind is a gentle cross-shore, creating a slight cross-chop, but it’s the most energy we’ve seen. This is the best shot you’ll get, but even then, the conditions are rated poor. The cross-shore wind will keep it a bit bumpy.

After that, it drops back into the doldrums for the rest of the second week. A few glassy mornings on the 13th of August with a 2ft N swell, but the period is a short 5-6 seconds, and the energy is weak. It’s a long-range hope, but don’t bank on it.

For a beginner spot, these waves are barely ankle-snappers. The whole period is a write-off for a proper session. The only one with a little bit of push is the 10th, but it’s not clean. Honestly, this looks more like a window for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, especially with the choppy afternoons. The forecast can change, but as it stands, this is a barren run.

Rusty.

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