La Torche Surf Forecast and Surf Report

First up, La Torche is an exposed beach and point setup, and it’s a classic. The water temp is sitting at 18°, which is about 0.5° warmer than usual for this time of year – nothing crazy, just a little bit of a bonus.

Friday the 4th is a write-off. We’ve got a fresh onshore wind and poor conditions all day. Not worth paddling out. The real story starts Saturday morning, the 5th. That’s the one. We’ve got a clean 2.0m swell from the WNW, a 13-second period, and light easterly offshore winds. The combined energy is massive at 1268 – you'll feel that power. This is excellent surf, but at this size, it's one for the experienced crew only. The point here really comes alive with that long-period groundswell, giving you some proper lines. It’ll be clean as a whistle with that offshore wind, but expect a few others in the water, as it can get busy.

Saturday afternoon drops a little in quality with a light cross-onshore breeze, and the size backs off to 1.9m. That’s a still a good wave, but not the same as the morning.

After that, things get a bit messy and inconsistent for a long stretch. Sunday the 6th has small swell and poor wind. Monday the 7th sees another pulse of solid 1.9m to 2.0m groundswell from the W, but it’s onshore wind again. It’s a frustrating pattern – the swell’s there, but the wind ruins it. From the 8th through the 15th, it’s a lot of onshore and cross-onshore wind, mostly in the moderate to fresh range. The swell drops, picks up again, but it's never clean. Many days have poor surf conditions written all over them. There is one interesting moment on the 13th and 14th – very small, glassy or clean conditions, but the swell is tiny at 0.6m. If you're desperate for a longboard or a SUP, maybe. For a real surf, no.

Then we finally get a bit of hope towards the end of the second week. Thursday morning the 17th is looking interesting. We get a 1.1m WNW swell coming in with a light SE wind – that's cross-offshore and clean. The energy is in the moderate range at 250, and the wave comment says "expect good surf conditions". It’s not the size of the 5th, but it’ll be way more user-friendly for intermediates and the conditions will be clean. Friday the 18th afternoon also has some potential with a 1.2m swell and a moderate offshore breeze, keeping things clean, but the period is short at 6 seconds.

So, to wrap it up: The absolute best on offer without question is the Saturday, September 5th morning at La Torche. That’s your 2.0m WNW groundswell with 13 seconds of period and clean offshore wind. Get on it. After that, the 17th morning is your next best bet for a cleaner, smaller session.

Stay wet, stay hungry.
- Rusty

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