Rincon - Indicator Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks around Rincon.

Straight up, I’ve gotta be honest with you: this is a tough stretch. The surf is small and messy for the entire 16-day run, and there’s no real standout session to get excited about. The first decent pulse of swell doesn’t even show up for a good while, and even then, the conditions are average at best. You’ll be waiting over a week for anything that’s even worth a look.

Let’s start with what we’ve got. On Sunday the 13th, there’s a small 3ft WNW swell rolling in, period around 9 seconds, so it’s a short-period windswell with weak energy (154). The wind’s onshore from the SW at 6 mph, so it’s bumpy. Not worth paddling out for. The water temp is sitting at 71°, which is a whopping 8° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s very unusual and feels more like summer than early autumn. That afternoon, the swell bumps up to 5ft but the period drops to just 6 seconds, energy increases to 297, but the wind stays onshore. It’s a bit of a jumbled mess and the tide might be a problem too. Nothing to get excited about.

Monday the 14th is more of the same – small 3ft to 3ft W swell with onshore SW wind at 6 mph. No good.

Tuesday the 15th has a cross-on breeze from the S, and the swell is tiny – 3ft and 2ft – with period dropping to 8 seconds on the afternoon session. Just small, weak waves (109 to 189 energy) with light wind ripples.

Wednesday the 16th through to the end of the first week sees the swell drop right off. Heights of 1ft to 2ft, period ranging from 15 to 19 seconds – so you’ve got long-period groundswell energy (125 to 295 energy), but the size is so small that it’s basically flat. The wind stays light and onshore or cross-onshore, so even if there was a ripple, it wouldn’t be clean. The long period means the few waves that do show will be fat and weak, not offering anything for a paddle surfer.

Saturday the 20th sees the first slightly better window. The morning has a 2ft SW swell with an 18-second period, light onshore SW wind at 6 mph, and energy climbing to 295. The surf quality is still rated marginal at best, with the tide likely messing things up. Still, if you’re desperate and have a longboard, there might be a slow, cleanish wave. But I wouldn’t call it a standout – it’s the best of a bad bunch.

From there, it’s more of the same through to the end of the 16-day window. Monday the 28th offers 1ft SW swell with a 16-second period, onshore wind, and energy around 153 to 156. Again, too small to be worth a session.

Look, there’s no true standout here. The whole period is a write-off for decent surf. The only break on offer is Rincon – Indicator, a point break that’s very consistent and handles a W swell best, but the swell direction is all over the place and mostly small. With such poor quality and light onshore winds, this stretch is more of a time to clean the wax off your board and wait for a better forecast. It won’t stay poor forever, but this run is a long one.

Rusty.

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