Tres Palmas (Rincon) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Well, grab a coffee, because I’ve stared at the charts for the next couple of weeks and, honestly, it’s a bit of a tough one for us here. The swell window is looking pretty bare for a long stretch.

Right now, and for the foreseeable future, there’s just nothing showing up. The models are flat, and the wave comment sections are all reading "poor surf conditions." That’s the long and short of it. We’re looking at a real blank run, which is more normal for this stretch of coast than we’d like to admit. It’s not going to last forever, but for the next 16 days, the ocean is going to be pretty quiet.

The only place that even gets a mention is Tres Palmas (Rincon), but it’s not because it’s good. It’s the only spot showing any data, and it's a story of tiny, weak pulses. It’s a reef break that’s notoriously inconsistent, and unless the swell direction is straight out of the WNW, it just doesn’t do anything. All the swell we see is coming from the NNE, which is completely wrong for it. You’d be paddling around on a glassy, flat ocean, looking at a few dribbles of whitewater.

The water is sitting at 84°, which is about normal for this time of year, so at least the air and water will be warm while you’re sitting there wondering where the waves are.

The endless run of glassy mornings and light offshore winds is, frankly, a waste on a flat ocean. There is a brief moment on the morning of the 13th of August where a very weak, long-period pulse (13 seconds) shows up, but it’s still under 1 foot and from the wrong direction. It’s a tease, not a wave. The energy numbers are all in the single digits or low teens, which is about as weak as it gets. The combined energy of all swells directed here is just 18 out of 0 on that day, which is nothing.

To be honest, with this much swell and the strong afternoon cross-offshore breezes that are due to pick up, the setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer. If you’ve got a kite, you might get some fun on the flat water. But for a surfboard? You’re better off checking the forecast again in a week or so. Forecasts change, and this dry spell won't hold forever.

There’s one more thing worth noting: the afternoon of the 20th of August shows a tiny 0.3ft pulse with a 12-second period from the north. It’s still nothing, but it’s the only hint of any period over 11 seconds in the whole outlook. It’s so far out that it’s just a whisper, but it’s something to keep in the back of your mind for the next week, even if it’s just a promise of things to come.

Stay patient.

Rusty

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