San Vicente Rivermouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a squiz at what’s on the cards for San Vicente Rivermouth over the next couple of weeks. Honestly, mate, it’s a pretty bleak run. We’re looking at a solid stretch of poor conditions that drags on for over a week with nothing worth paddling out for.

The water temp is sitting where you’d expect for this time of year, nothing unusual there. But the surf? For the first eight days, from Wednesday the 12th right through to the 20th of August, it’s all tiny dribble and messy wind. Swell energy is weak, barely cracking 100 (42 to 98), with short-period slop mostly from the NW. The wind is a stubborn cross-onshore, which just chops everything to bits. It’s uninspiring.

There’s a slight flicker on Thursday the 20th morning – a cleaner window with cross-offshore breeze at 6 mph and a tiny 2 ft NW swell at 10 seconds. The wave energy is still weak (85), and the call is only “surfable but very ordinary.” Hardly a standout. Then it’s back into the junk.

Friday the 21st morning actually sees a bump in swell height to 3 ft from the NW, and the period stretches to a nice long 12 seconds. The combined energy jumps to a moderate 471. That sounds promising, but the wind is a cruel cross-onshore at 9 mph, ruining any chance of clean waves. So close, yet so far.

After that, conditions stay poor through the weekend and into the next week, with a mix of rain, thunderstorms, and howling winds. The real tease comes early on Sunday the 23rd morning. The wind goes completely glassy, dead calm, and there’s a 2 ft NNW swell. But it’s tiny, short-period (9 secs), and the energy is only 72, so while the surface would be perfect, there’s just not enough push for a proper surf.

Finally, on Thursday the 27th morning, we get a late glimpse of hope. A 4 ft NW swell with an 11-second period rolls in, carrying moderate energy (280). The wind is a gentle cross-shore, which could leave it reasonably clean. The rating is still “marginal” though, so don’t expect perfection. This is probably the best of a very average bunch, but it’s a long way off and far from certain.

Given the never-ending run of poor quality and strong cross-onshore winds on most days with any size, this setup looks far more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. For now, leave the boards in the shed.

Rusty.

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