Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s cooking for Tijuana Sloughs over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, straight up – this is a tough run. The entire 16-day window is looking marginal at best, with no real standout days that would get me rushing to grab my board. The first few days, from Thursday the 13th to the end of the month, are all rated as poor or marginal. The surf is small, the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, and the water temps are about average for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

The best of a bad bunch might be the Friday morning of the 14th of August. We’re looking at a clean, clear morning with a light breeze, but the swell is a tiny 2ft from the SW, with a very long 18-second period. That long period will help the shape, but it’s still small. The wave energy is moderate, hitting 621 (combined energy) on the Friday morning, which is about as good as it gets here for the whole outlook. The wind is onshore, but light, so it won’t be too messy.

The Tijuana Sloughs break is a river mouth, which can be fickle, and it’s exposed to the SW, which is the optimum direction. The problem is the swell is just too small and the wind is nearly always rubbish. The period is long, often over 15 seconds, which is a groundswell, but at a river mouth that can sometimes make things a bit too straight.
For the rest of the run, from the 16th onwards, the swell drops off even more, with heights mostly between 1ft and 3ft, and the wind stays onshore or cross-onshore. There’s a real gap of poor conditions from the 17th to the 24th of August, with no real improvement. The energy drops down to the low 200s and 300s, which is weak.

If you’re an absolute beginner, the tiny size is fine, but the wind will make it a battle. The truth is, for this entire period, the conditions are so consistently rubbish that it’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-surfing one. The waves are small, choppy, and poorly shaped.
Don’t hold your breath. It’s a long, flat, windy stretch. Forecasts can change, but right now, this is a hard pass.

Rusty.

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