El Sardinero - Primera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks around El Sardinero - Primera (in Spain) are looking pretty grim for getting a proper wave. The water is sitting at a warm 72°, which is about a degree warmer than usual for this time of year, so at least a paddle won't be a shock to the system.

We’re starting off with a long, flat spell. From Wednesday the 12th of August all the way through to Saturday the 15th, the swell is barely a ripple, mostly around 1ft to 2ft with weak energy (49 to 75). The winds are light and variable, but there’s just no power in the water to do anything with. It’s a total write-off.

Sunday the 16th of August sees a bit of a pulse arrive, with the swell bumping up to 3ft in the morning and hitting 5ft by the afternoon. The combined energy jumps to 237 in the afternoon, which is respectable, but the period is a short 7 seconds and the wind swings onshore. The water gets choppy, and it’s only really surfable in a very ordinary way. Not worth getting excited about.

Monday the 17th is a similar story – 4ft in the morning with a clean cross-offshore wind, but that short period (7 seconds) and weak energy (167) means it’s still just mushy and average. The afternoons turn onshore and choppy again.

We get a few days of tiny, glassy conditions from the 18th to the 20th, but the swell is all under 3ft with energy below 100. Looks beautiful, but you’ll be floating around waiting for a knee-high lump.

The outlook picks up slightly on Friday the 21st of August. The swell is still tiny at 2ft, but the period stretches out to a surprising 13 seconds, giving it a bit of groundswell feel. The energy reads 121, but it's a cross-onshore breeze, so it’s likely just a bumpy, weak line-up.

The best chance for a surfable wave comes on Saturday the 22nd of August. The morning shows a clean 3ft swell from the NW with a 10-second period and a cross-offshore wind from the West. The energy is moderate at 120. It’s small, but it’ll be clean and with a little bit of push. The afternoon wind picks up to 12 mph, so the window is small.

A bigger swell shows up on Sunday the 23rd of August afternoon – 4ft from the NW with an 8-second period and energy of 203. The wind is cross-offshore, so it'll be clean, but the short period will make it a bit disorganised. Still, it’s the most powerful wave of the period so far.

Then Monday the 24th of August brings the biggest swell of the forecast. The morning has 6ft waves from the north with a 7-second period, and the energy is a strong 298. The wind is a clean cross-offshore, but with a fresh breeze of 19 mph. That’s a lot of wind and a short-period swell, which will be a chunky, bumpy mess. This is more of a kite-surfing setup than a clean paddle-surfing wave. The afternoon stays big (5ft) but the wind strengthens to 25 mph.

After that, the 25th of August through to the 27th sees the swell drop back down to tiny, weak, and generally messy conditions. There is no standout day in this 16-day window. The closest thing to a surfable session is the early morning of Saturday the 22nd of August, but even that's a stretch.

Rusty.

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