Stela Maris Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. Looking at the coming weeks for Stela Maris, and I gotta be honest with you, it’s a grim run for the most part. There’s very little on offer that would get me scrambling for my wetsuit, and I’m talking about the full 16-day window. The whole run is plagued with wind out of the SSE and SE, keeping the ocean messy, lumpy, and choppy for days on end. There’s a long, frustrating gap of mostly poor to marginal conditions stretching all the way from the start up until late in the month.

Right from Wednesday morning July 15th, it’s a write-off. Swell sits at 8 ft from the SSE but with a crappy 8-second period and a strong cross-onshore wind at 25 mph. That combo gives you nothing but mess. The combined energy is moderate at best (674), but it’s blown apart. That theme just keeps repeating. Thursday the 16th sees some energy jump, with the combined swells hitting 1709 (strong) Thursday afternoon and a 6 ft SE swell creeping in, but the period is still short and the wind is cross-onshore. Unrideable.

Friday the 17th brings a little hope with an onshore wind shift and a 7 ft SE swell, period up to 11 seconds. But with the fresh breeze straight on it and poor surf conditions flagged, it's not the kind of day you rush for. Saturday the 18th has a promising moment Saturday afternoon – the combined energy reads 1454 (strong), the swell holds at 8 ft from the SE, period still short at 8 seconds, but the wind drops to a gentle cross-onshore breeze. It’s *marginal* at absolute best – worth a peek if you’re desperate, but keep expectations low.

Crowds at Stela Maris are *often* an issue, but honestly, with this run of surf, I doubt you’ll find many out. This is intermediate territory with that sort of size – at 8 ft it’s not beginner friendly, but a solid intermediate could mess around. The swell direction from the SE doesn’t match the optimum S direction the spot prefers, so the break won’t be firing even when the waves are there.

That long stretch of nothing carries all the way through the following week. It’s not until Saturday the 25th of July that we see a real standout moment. On the morning of the 25th, the wind goes glassy – just 3 mph from the east, and man, that’s the best we’ve seen all forecast. The swell is small at 4 ft from the E, period only 8 seconds, and combined energy is weak (159). It’s not going to be pumping, but glassy conditions on a wave that’s surfable? That’s the highlight of the whole outlook. The water temperature sits at 79°F and that’s about average for the time of year, no anomaly to speak of. For the crew who just want to get wet and catch a couple of clean little rollers, that’s your window.

Another glassy chance shows up Monday morning July 27th – again 4 ft, E swell, 3 mph wind, glass conditions. Energy is weak (150), but if you want clean and empty, that’s another one to pencil in.

Other than those two glimmers, the run is consistently poor or marginal. There’s even a late pulse on Wednesday July 29th with 8 ft from the SSE, 8 seconds, moderate cross-onshore – too big for beginners and purely choppy. No thanks.

So, what’s the call? The absolute best on offer here is the morning of Saturday July 25th – glassy, small, but clean. Monday July 27th morning is the backup with similar conditions. Don't expect much else. For the rest, I’d leave the board at home.

Rusty.

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