Rancho Santini Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for this stretch of coast over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: it’s a lean period for the Rancho Santini (Costa Rica) area. We’ve got a solid, long-period groundswell on the way from the southwest, with a very long period of 16 to 18 seconds and a good amount of energy behind it (425 to 833). But the wind just won’t play ball for the first week-and-a-half, and that’s spoiling what could be some real nice lines.

The water temp is sitting at about 67°, which is pretty average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

We kick off on Thursday, July 2nd, with a clean little 2 ft swell from the SW, period of 16 seconds, and moderate energy (425). The wind is offshore in the morning, but the forecast is already calling it “poor surf conditions” with a score of 0. That just means there’s something else going on – probably a weird tide or a bump on the surface despite the wind direction. We see the same story through Friday and Saturday: swell bumps up to 3 ft, with a period of 14 to 16 seconds, but the wind sits steady from the WNW at 12 mph, turning cross-on and making it choppy. Not worth paddling out.

By Monday, July 6th, the energy really ramps up to 571 and then 722 on the afternoon, with a 3 ft to 2 ft swell. That’s a lot of juice for a small wave, but the cross-on wind just kills it.

It’s not until Tuesday, July 7th that we see a shift. The wind finally turns fully offshore from the WNW at 9 mph, and the swell is 4 ft from the SW with an 18-second period and huge energy (833). The report calls it “marginal,” scoring a 1, which usually means the tide is making it fat or the banks are out of whack. Still, if you can find a good bank, that’s a wave you can ride. Wednesday the 8th is similar: 3 ft to 4 ft SW swell, long 16-second period, a clean offshore breeze from the W at 6-9 mph, and energy in the 770s. The same “marginal” tag applies. If you’re desperate for a paddle, these two days are your best bet in the first week, but don't expect perfection.

We then drop into a long gap of nothing special. From Thursday, July 9th right through to the end of the forecast on July 17th, the swell stays under 3 ft, the wind stays cross-on or onshore most of the time, and the wave energy drops significantly, bottoming out at 185 on July 14th. Even the longer period swells that do pop up (like the 18-second one on July 15th) are only 2 ft to 2 ft. There’s a few afternoons with light winds and “marginal” calls, like July 9th afternoon and July 15th afternoon, but it's not enough to get excited about.

Truth is, for a consistent beginner spot like this, a blank run like this is pretty normal. The swell energy is there in the first week, but the wind is our enemy. The second week is just flat and uninspiring. The waves that do show up with that super-long period (16-18 seconds) would actually be better suited to a point break or reef elsewhere, but at Rancho Santini, with the cross-winds, it's a write-off. This setup looks more like a kite-surfing afternoon than a paddle session on most days.

So, keep your eye on Tuesday the 7th and Wednesday the 8th, but don't hold your breath. Forecasts can change.

Rusty.

Read more