El Sardinero - Primera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s coming.

It’s a rough start, I won’t lie. The first week and a half is pretty much a bust. Tiny, weak waves with hardly any energy. The water is sitting at about 73°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – nice for floating around, but not for surfing.

Let’s get into the details. Through Friday the 7th and into the weekend, El Sardinero - Primera is seeing knee-high slop. Swell is from the NNW, but it’s short-period stuff, around 7 to 8 seconds, and the combined energy is pathetic, barely hitting double digits (35). Winds are mostly onshore or blowing across from the NE and NNE, so it’s choppy and ugly. Saturday the 8th morning is glassy, but with only 1ft of 5-second swell, there’s nothing to push you.

Sunday the 9th shows a slight bump with a 10-second period from the NNW, but the height is still only 2ft and the wind swings offshore from the W. It’s clean, but the energy is still weak (96). This pattern of tiny, weak swell and generally poor wind drags on day after day. Monday the 10th is glassy again in the morning, but again, nothing to get excited about with 2ft waves.

We have a long, frustrating gap of days where the surf is just not worth paddling for. The wind improves at times – the morning of Wednesday the 13th is glassy, and we get some offshore winds on the 14th – but the swell height is stuck around 1ft to 2ft, and the wave comment screams “poor surf conditions.” The only slight glimmer is the afternoon of Friday the 14th, where we get surfable waves but very ordinary conditions, with the energy finally cracking triple digits at 111. Still, at 2ft and a 10-second period from the NW, it’s not a standout.

The real hope comes in the second week. Friday the 21st of August morning looks like the best on offer. We’ve got a 4ft swell from the NW with a 9-second period, and with a glassy NE wind at just 5 mph, it should be clean. The combined energy jumps right up to 367, which is a moderate-to-strong punch. This is the one to circle. It’s not huge, but it’s the most energy we’ve seen all forecast, and the conditions line up. Saturday the 22nd morning is also worth a look, with 4ft from the NNW, clean with an offshore W wind at 9 mph, and energy at 262. That’s a decent backup.

Keep in mind, though, this is a week and a half away from Friday the 21st, so treat it as promising but not locked in. For a spot that’s fairly consistent, these blank runs happen, but they never last forever.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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