El Sardinero - Primera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got to be straight with you—this is one of those outlooks where the ocean just isn’t playing ball. We’ve got a 16-day window staring at us, and for the first five days, from Wednesday morning right through to Sunday afternoon, the surf is flat-out poor. Tiny 0.7ft to 2ft slop with weak energy (16 to 27), shifty winds, and nothing worth paddling out for. It’s a real quiet start.

Then we hit a bit of a lull until Monday the 20th. That morning, the swell bumps up to 5ft from the north, with a period of 7 seconds and combined energy hitting 281 (moderate). The wind is light and cross-offshore, so it’s clean. This is about as good as it gets, but honestly, it’s still just “surfable but ordinary.” The wave quality isn’t there, and the afternoon turns onshore and messy. Not a standout.

Tuesday the 21st sees similar 5ft to 5ft north-northeast swell, but the wind is mostly cross-on or onshore, and the energy is moderate (173 to 228). The water temp is a standout here—71°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year (anomaly of 4°F). That’s a nice surprise, but it doesn’t make the waves any better.

From Wednesday the 22nd right through to the end of the period on Thursday the 30th, it’s a long, drawn-out run of tiny, weak surf. Swells bounce between 0.3ft and 5ft, mostly with periods under 8 seconds, and energy rarely cracks 100. The wind is cross-off or glassy at times, especially on the 30th morning when it’s glassy and 0.3ft, but there’s just no push. The only faint glimmer is Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th, where the swell hits 5ft to 5ft from the northwest/northwest, with energy up to 222 (moderate), and clean cross-offshore winds. But the period is still short (6 to 7 seconds), and the score is still a flat zero. It’s not surfable in any meaningful way.

If I had to pick one—just one—look at the Monday morning of the 20th at El Sardinero - Primera. It’s the only time the swell and wind align for a clean, waist-high wave. But don’t expect magic. For the rest of it, this stretch is a write-off for surf. The break is sheltered, inconsistent, and the optimum swell direction is from the north, which we get a few times, but the quality never follows through.

Crowds are often a problem here, but with this lack of surf, you’ll have the place to yourself. Honestly, on the bigger days with poor quality and onshore winds, it might look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Rusty.

Read more