Zumaya (Playa de Itxurun) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m Rusty, and this is your local surf outlook for the upcoming stretch.

Right off the bat, I’ll be straight with you: the next week and a half is looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long, quiet stretch ahead with very little to get excited about. The water is sitting at around 77°F, which is a whopping 6°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s definitely unusual, almost like the ocean’s having a bit of a warm spell. Even so, the waves just aren’t cooperating.

The first solid recommendation doesn’t come until Saturday the 29th of August. Until then, we’re looking at a lot of flat, weak, or messy conditions. Tuesday the 18th does offer a tiny bit of hope with glassy conditions in the morning, but the swell is a tiny 1 ft from the NW, and the combined energy is only 50 – just too weak to get excited about. The same goes for Wednesday the 19th, with glassy winds but next to no swell.

Thursday the 20th sees a bit more push, with the afternoon swell picking up to 4 ft from the NW, period of 12 seconds, and a combined energy of 383, but it’s still a marginal call. Friday the 21st morning has the biggest swell we’ve seen so far: 5 ft from the NW, period 11 seconds, and energy of 548, but the wind is cross-on, so it’s messy. Not something I’d be racing out for.

The real standout, and the one to circle on your calendar, is Saturday the 29th of August. Late in the afternoon, conditions flip. We’ve got glassy winds, a clean 4 ft swell from the NW with a period of 10 seconds, and combined energy of 323. It’s described as “expect good surf conditions” – that’s the first time we’ve seen that in ages. That same energy carries into Sunday the 30th of August, with another glassy morning, 4 ft from the NW, and a 9-second period.

Zumaya (Playa de Itxurun) is a beach/jetty setup, so it’s exposed to the NW swell – and the optimum swell direction for this spot is from the NNW, so the NW swell we’re getting is a solid match. It’s beginner-friendly, but with that 4 ft, it’s still manageable for most. The crowds can be a problem here, so if you can get out on a weekday, you’ll have a better chance at a wave.

The very end of the forecast, Monday the 31st of August morning, also looks promising: glassy, clean, 5 ft from the NW, but the period is only 7 seconds, so it’ll be a bit weaker and more disorganized. The afternoon swings back to cross-on, so the morning window is the one to aim for.

To sum it up: don’t bother with the first week and a half. The real window opens on Saturday the 29th of August, and runs through to Monday the 31st of August. It’s not a monster swell, but after this long dry spell, it’s the best we’ve got. Keep your fingers crossed.

Rusty.

Read more