Rancho Santini Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Looks like we’ve got a stretch of surf ahead at Rancho Santini, but it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The water’s sitting at a noticeably warm 71°, which is about 4° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s a proper anomaly, so you’ll feel that difference.

Right now, it’s not doing much. The first few days are a write-off. Wednesday the 22nd has got clean skies but a hefty 16 mph cross-onshore wind from the NW, smashing up a waist-high 3 ft SW swell (594 energy). It’s just choppy and poor. Thursday the 23rd isn’t any better – the wind is lighter but cross-onshore again, and the wave comment says “marginal.”

Then we start to see some hope. Friday morning the 24th has a clean 2 ft swell from the SW, but the real story is the period – a huge 24 seconds. That’s very long-period groundswell, so the combined energy is a solid 1033, but long-period swells like this can be tricky at a beach break like Rancho Santini, tending to run straight. Still, with light 6 mph onshore wind, it might offer a few clean ones if you can find a rip to get out. Crowds are sometimes an issue, so be prepared for a few others sniffing around.

Saturday the 25th keeps the SW swell going at around 3 ft with that long 21-second period, and again light onshore wind. It’s “marginal” but surfable. Through the end of July and into the first week of August, the swell ticks up. Monday the 29th brings 4 ft from the SSW at 16 seconds, and by Tuesday the 30th we’re at 5 ft from the SW with a 17-second period and light breezes – the scores start to nudge up, but the wave comments stay at “marginal.”

The standout in this outlook is shaping up for Friday the 31st of July through to Saturday the 1st of August. Friday afternoon delivers 6 ft of S swell at 14 seconds with light 6 mph onshore wind (1354 energy) – that’s proper chest-to-head-high stuff. Saturday morning the 1st of August is similar, 6 ft from the SSW (1444 energy), but the wind swings to a moderate 12 mph cross-onshore from the NW, making it choppy again. For the best of it, I’d call Friday afternoon the pick – clean conditions, solid size, decent period. At 6 ft, it’s edging out of beginner territory but fine for intermediates and up.

After that, it drops off. Sunday the 2nd and Monday the 3rd are poor with stronger cross-onshore winds and dropping swell. There’s a bit of a lull, then Thursday the 6th of August shows a return of 6 ft to 7 ft SSW swell with a 14-second period and light onshore wind, which could be promising, but it’s two weeks out so treat that as a hopeful note rather than a lock.

Overall, it’s a slow start but Friday the 31st of July is where you want to be in the water. Keep an eye on the wind – it makes all the difference here.

Rusty.

Read more