Zumaya (Playa de Itxurun) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Zumaya (Playa de Itxurun).

We’re in for a bit of a slow start. The first couple of days are pretty grim. Wednesday’s got onshore winds and messy 1.4m to 1.5m waves with weak energy (286 and then 328). Poor conditions, mate. You won’t be missing much. That carries into Thursday morning with a bit more size, 1.8m, but the period jumps to 11 seconds and the wind is cross-on. Still marginal — the sort of day you watch from the sand. The combined energy ticks up (716), but it’s not doing us any favours yet. Friday sees the size bounce around, up to 2.1m by the afternoon, but the period is short (9 seconds) and the wind is on it. Another one to give a miss.

Now, listen closely because here comes the good stuff. Saturday morning is the standout. It’s glassy — dead calm, clean lines. The swell is a solid 2.1m out of the NW with a 13-second period. The combined energy jumps right up to 1521, which is proper strong. This is the best on offer for the whole run for experienced surfers. Anyone looking to get out and push themselves, this is the one. The break is fairly consistent and exposed to the NW, so it’ll be handling that size well. Crowds are often, so get in early. Sunday morning is also excellent — the glass comes back, with 1.6m and an 11-second period, energy at 675. Clean, well-shaped waves. Monday is more of the same, glassy again with 1.6m and a 12-second period (725 combined energy). We’ve got a run of proper clean mornings here.

Now, that bigger groundswell is prone to breaking a little straight at a beach/jetty set-up like this, so keep that in mind while you’re out there; look for the peaks. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so a springy is still fine.

The middle of the week drops off a bit. Tuesday’s got smaller 1.1m waves, still clean and glassy in the morning, but the energy drops to 350. It’s surfable, but nothing to write home about. Wednesday picks up a slightly longer period (16 seconds) from the NW, but the size is down at 0.9m. Thursday morning gets a bit more interesting with a cross-offshore wind from the S and 1.3m at 12 seconds, but it’s not firing on all cylinders. By Friday and Saturday we’re back to clean, small conditions — 1.0m to 1.3m, glassy and lined up, but the energy is weak (233 to 328). You’ll get a few waves, but it’s background surf.

The long-range stuff for the end of the month and into October is slim pickings. There’s a gap with poor conditions from Sunday the 27th through Wednesday the 30th, with onshore winds and weak, messy waves. The 27th has a very long period (16 seconds) but only 0.5m to 0.9m of swell — that’s nothing. The 30th is just poor outright with moderate winds and 0.8m. The final record shows a small 1.0m swell with an 8-second period on Thursday the 1st of October, but that short period kills it.

So, to wrap it up: if you’re keen, the weekend — Saturday and Sunday — is where it’s at. Saturday morning is the pick of the bunch. After that, the mornings stay clean but the swell fades. The second week doesn’t offer much, so don’t hold your breath for anything epic.

Stay stoked.

Rusty.

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