Chacopata Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, gather round, me hearties. Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for our patch. Honestly, it’s a tough gig for the next fortnight. We’re looking at a long, dry spell with bugger-all on the cards for a proper surf.

The whole 16-day window is a bit of a write-off for us. From now all the way through to the end of August, the forecast is stuffed with mostly onshore wind and tiny, gutless swell. We’re talking combined swell energies that barely tick over, many days sitting at zero to just single-digit values. That means zero wave power for paddling into.

Our only named break here, Chacopata, is a consistent reef, but it’s not going to show us anything worthwhile. The water is sitting at 80°F, which is pretty normal for this time of year, not worth getting excited about. But the surf? Poor conditions every single day.

Let’s run through the misery. There’s a hint of a bump on Thursday afternoon, 13th August, with a 2 ft swell showing, but it’s from the ENE at a pathetic 3-second period and blowing 25 mph onshore. That’s a washing machine, not a wave. The next morning, Friday 14th, is even smaller at 1 ft, with a cross-onshore wind making it lumpy. By Saturday 15th we’re down to 0.7 ft and a risk of thunderstorms.

The whole first week is a dead loss. We go from Sunday 16th to Monday 17th with zero energy. Tuesday 18th kicks up a 2 ft from the NE, but again, onshore wind and a period of only 3 seconds. It’s micro-slop with no push. The pattern just repeats: tiny 1 ft to 2 ft waves, always onshore, always from the NE or ENE, with periods stuck between 2 and 3 seconds. Combined energies never get above single digits – mostly 1s, 2s, and 5s. That’s nothing.

Further out, the second week is worse. From 20th August onward, we see the same story: poor surf conditions, moderate to fresh onshore breezes, and swell heights barely breaking the 2 ft mark. There’s a couple of morning glimpses with a 0.3 ft wave from the NE on the 23rd and 26th, with a slightly longer period of 6 to 7 seconds, but that’s still a ripple. The combined energy on those days is just 1 or 2. By the 28th, we get a 0.3 ft with an 8-second period, but it’s straight onshore.

No standouts here. None. This is a blank run. For this area, when the trade winds lock in and the swell direction is all wrong, this is what we get. It looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, to be honest. Don't bother waxing the board for a while, folks.

Keep an eye on it, but for now, I’d find something else to do.

Rusty.

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