El Sardinero - Primera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. We’re looking at the Sardinero stretch for the next couple of weeks, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a bit of a mixed bag with some quiet spells. The first recommendation worth a mention starts from this Saturday afternoon, but things really don’t get interesting until the week after.

Right off the bat, we’re dealing with a period of mainly weak, messy surf. Saturday the 22nd is a write-off; we’ve got a cross-onshore wind from the ENE at 19 mph killing any chance of a decent wave with a tiny 3ft swell from the NNW. Sunday the 23rd to Thursday the 27th is just as quiet, with swell heights staying under 3ft and the energy levels are weak – barely hitting triple digits on that combined energy scale (77 on Sunday morning). The water temp is sitting at a touch warmer than usual for the time of year at 73°, but that won’t help the waves.

Things start to look a little more promising on Thursday afternoon the 27th, but it’s still only small. That cross-offshore wind from the WNW is a plus, and we get a bit more energy (136), but the waves are still just ordinary at 3ft from the NW.

Now, the real standout is going to be Friday morning the 28th. This is our first true highlight. El Sardinero – Primera will be seeing a solid 8ft swell rolling in from the NW, with a period of 9 seconds. That’s a moderate energy pulse (944) and with light offshore WSW winds at 6 mph, the surf should be clean and lined up. Keep in mind, at that size it’s going to be a bit much for beginners; you’ll want some experience. The crowd situation here is rated as "often," so expect some company for the good ones. The swell direction is coming from the NW, and while the optimum direction here is N, the energy and clean conditions make it the best bet by a long shot.

The Saturday the 29th is a step down but still surfable in the morning with a 5ft NW swell and light cross-offshore winds, but it’s a bit ordinary.

We then hit another lull from Sunday the 30th through to Thursday the 3rd of September. It’s mostly small and weak with cross-onshore breezes, just not worth paddling out for.

But hang in there because Saturday the 5th of September is another strong candidate. The morning looks excellent – a clean 5ft swell from the NNW with a long 12-second period, glassy conditions thanks to a light easterly breeze, and strong wave energy pumping in at 731. That’s the kind of long-period groundswell that will wrap in nicely and could produce some proper shape, especially with the wind being so light. The crowd will be there, but for a clean 5ft glassy wave, it’s worth it.

The rest of that day and into the 6th of September it drops off again, with cross-offshore winds but losing size and energy.

So, to wrap it up: the two best windows for El Sardinero – Primera are Friday morning the 28th of August for some solid, clean 8ft sets, and Saturday morning the 5th of September for a glassy, longer-period 5ft groundswell. The rest of the time, you’re mostly looking at small, weak, or wind-affected conditions.

Stay stoked, and I’ll see you in the water.
Rusty

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