San Carpoforo Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a proper look at what San Carpoforo Creek (Big Sur) has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. It's a bit of a mixed bag to be honest, with the early part of the outlook looking pretty average, but there are a couple of moments that could really fire if you time it right.

The first few days you’re looking at small, wind-affected surf. From Friday the 24th through to the start of the following week, we've got a consistent cross-onshore breeze from the northwest that's just going to keep things choppy and bumpy. There's some long-period energy coming in from the southwest with periods up to 24 seconds, which suggests some real groundswell, but the wind's just not going to let it clean up. The combined swell energy is strong, sitting around the 1200 mark (1158-1225), but with that constant cross-on wind and heights barely scraping 4ft, it's more frustrating than fun. The water's a bit colder than average for this time of year at 58°, which is notable.

Then things start to look interesting. Thursday the 30th of July morning rolls around and we finally get a pocket of calm. Winds drop to almost nothing with a glassy surface and a clean 3ft swell from the SSW (16 seconds). The combined energy eases a bit to 825, but that's still a decent bit of power in the water. This is the best call in the near term by a long shot.

But the real standout is Friday the 31st of July morning. Now we're talking. It's glassy again with the lightest of breezes, and the swell jumps up to 5ft from the SSE, with a period of 16 seconds. The combined energy is back up to 1315, a proper strong pulse. The forecast says conditions for experienced surfers, and I can see why. It's going to be clean, powerful, and that peak could be really good. Get on it if you can, though expect a few keen locals at a spot that's known to get crowded sometimes.

Moving into August, the surf starts to drop off in quality again. Saturday the 1st of August morning has a bit more size at 6ft from the S, but the period drops and the wind is back on it. Then we hit a flat spell for a few days. The swell hangs around but gets short-period and messy, especially going through the middle of the week with that wind swell from the WNW. By Friday the 7th of August morning, the swell picks up again to 7ft from the NW with a period of 10 seconds. The combined energy jumps back up to 1302, but the wind is cross-shore, so it's going to be lined up but not perfect. That Saturday morning on the 8th of August, it's fading again. That second week is just a lot less certain.

Rusty.

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