Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what's cooking for the Tijuana Sloughs over the next couple of weeks. It's a bit of a mixed bag, but there's some serious potential if you time it right.

Alright, so the whole period is pretty marginal, truth be told. Your first solid look at waves comes on Monday, July 20th, but the conditions aren't doing us any favours. The water's running at a very unusual 71°F, which is a full 4°F warmer than normal for this time of year – that's notable for sure.

For the most part, we're looking at onshore or cross-onshore winds making things a little bit lumpy. The wave energy is moderate, sitting around 659 on Monday morning. The first few days from Monday the 20th through to, say, Thursday the 23rd, it's all small stuff, around 3ft to 4ft, with a very long period for the first couple of days—16 seconds to start—which is a groundswell. That long period makes the Sloughs, being a river mouth, a decent place to handle it, but the quality is questionable. The crowd profile here says "sometimes" busy, but on a forecast like this, you won't be fighting for a wave.

There are a couple of standouts, though, if you're willing to be patient. The first real blip on the radar is the morning of Thursday, July 31st. We get a solid bump in swell – 6ft from the S – with a long 15-second period. The wind is onshore but it's light, only 10 km/h (6 mph). That Thursday is followed by the morning of Saturday, August 1st, with 7ft from the S and a period of 13 seconds. The wind is still just a light onshore breeze. The wave energy is also very strong, hitting 1868 on Saturday morning. Now, be warned – 7ft is getting big for the Sloughs. That's expert territory, and this is an advanced break anyway. It will be heavy, but if you're a charger, that's the one to go for. On the Friday the 31st (6ft) it's a bit more manageable for a strong intermediate. The wind state is clean, which is a major positive.

After that big pulse, things settle down quickly. By Sunday, August 2nd, it's dropping back to 5ft from the SSW, and the period shortens up. The energy drops like a stone, and by Monday the 3rd, it’s back to weak, small, and poor conditions. The rest of the window into the first week of August looks like a write-off – small, weak swells and poor quality surf.

So, for the real highlight: Thursday, July 31st morning, with 6ft swell from the S. That's the one with the best mix of size, power (1924 energy), and light wind. The Saturday, August 1st morning is the biggest option at 7ft, but that's for experts only.

Keep an eye on that end-of-July window; it’s the only real chance of a session worth writing home about.

- Rusty

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