El Sardinero - Primera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks for El Sardinero. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, so don’t go getting too excited just yet. We’ve got a slow start, but there’s a decent little window of cleaner surf coming up around the middle of next week.

For the first few days, it’s pretty grim. The swell is small and wonky, and the wind is all over the place. Monday afternoon is messy with a cross-on breeze, and Tuesday is just as poor. You’ll see some waves but it’s mostly junky, not worth paddling out for. We’re looking at a couple of days of this flat, gutless stuff.

Now, things start to wake up a bit on Wednesday the 16th. There’s a new swell starting to show, but it’s still pretty average. The morning has a bit of shape to it under a light cross-off, but the afternoon gets chopped up. Still, it’s the first time you might actually catch a rideable one. The energy is still weak though (around 263).

Here’s where it gets interesting. Thursday the 17th is your first real standout. The swell fills in a touch more, coming from the NW with a period of 11 seconds. The morning is glassy with a light offshore wind and the wave energy jumps right up (497). It’s clean, it’s got some push to it, and it should be fun for the intermediate crew. The water is sitting at 21°, which is pretty much spot on for this time of year.

Friday the 18th is a bit of a tease. The morning is clean but a bit small. Then the afternoon throws a bigger, longer-period swell at us (16 seconds, 2.1m). But it’s a cross-on mess with a lot of energy (2098). That’s a lot of water moving, but the wind will have it chopped and lumpy – better for the experts who don’t mind a battle.

Then, the big one for the period. Saturday the 19th (morning) . That same groundswell is still rolling in at a solid 2.1m, but the wind goes glassy. The energy is pumping (1551) and it’s coming from the NNW. This is your best bet for the whole stretch – proper, clean, powerful waves. It’s over the 1.5m mark so not one for beginners, and at 2.1m it’s pushing into expert territory. It’s a Saturday, so expect the lineup to be busy.

The rest of the run is pretty ordinary. Sunday and Monday have some surf but the wind turns onshore and it gets messy. Monday morning the 21st is clean and glassy with a long period swell (12s), but it’s only 1.5m, so it’s okay, just not as good as Saturday.

After that, the energy drops right off. The last few days of September are small and weak, with a lot of onshore wind. There’s a glassy morning on the 25th with a 1.1m NW swell, but the energy is low (355) and it’s just ordinary. It’s a real fade-out.

So, to call it: Saturday morning the 19th is the day. If you can only get out once, make it then. The 17th is your backup. After that, you’re chasing scraps.

Keep an eye on the forecast, but that’s how it’s looking from here.

Rusty.

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