Zicatela Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board and listen up. This is Rusty, and I'm looking at the next couple of weeks for us.

The picture is pretty clear: we are focused on one spot, and that's Zicatela. The whole forecast period is about this one exposed beach break, and the rhythm is classic: calm, glassy mornings followed by afternoon onshores that mess things up. The real story is the swell building as we head into the weekend.

The water is sitting at a warm 88°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, so you can leave the thicker wetsuit at home.

Now, the first few days are a bit of a slow burn. Tuesday morning has some small 2ft SW groundswell with a long 16-second period, but the wind is a light cross-shore, so it's not the cleanest. The energy is weak (356). It's a wait-and-see situation. Wednesday and Thursday mornings bring glassy conditions with that same small 2ft swell, but the energy starts to pick up a bit, hitting 270 and then 441 on Thursday. It's small, but it's clean.

The real action starts to build on Friday, the 28th of August. The morning glass is back, and the swell is starting to show some life. We're looking at 3ft of SSW groundswell, and the combined energy is already moderate at 805. The wind is dead calm, so it's going to be a fun, clean morning.

But the standout is Saturday, the 29th of August. The morning gets a big 6ft SW groundswell. The energy is strong, hitting 1743. The wind is glassy, and the conditions are rated excellent for experienced surfers. This is the pick of the forecast. Zicatela is an exposed beach break, so with 6ft of swell and a long 16-second period, it's going to be heavy and powerful. This is not for the inexperienced. The sets will be big and clean. Sunday morning backs off a touch to 5ft, but still with glassy conditions and good energy (921), making for another excellent session.

There's a bit of a lull into the start of the new month, with the swell dropping back to the 3ft range and more afternoon wind. But then the second week kicks back in. The mornings of the 2nd, 3rd, and especially the 4th and 5th of September are looking very promising. The 4th of September morning has a 6ft SSW groundswell, strong energy at 1731, and glassy conditions. The 5th of September is similar, with 6ft of SW swell and strong energy (1593). The last few days of the outlook, from the 6th to the 9th, continue this pattern of clean, glassy mornings with a solid 4ft to 5ft of SSW groundswell. The 9th of September morning is a standout with a 4ft SW groundswell, but a very long 18-second period and a clean cross-offshore wind, making for excellent conditions.

The bottom line is this: the early mornings are your window. If you want the biggest, most powerful waves of the window, you need to be out there on the morning of Saturday the 29th of August. For the rest of it, keep an eye on those morning glass-offs, especially around the 4th and 5th of September. This is a classic Zicatela run.

Rusty out.

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