Chacopata Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this outlook’s a tough one. We’re looking at a solid 16-day window, but honest to god, there’s barely a ripple worth paddling for. The whole stretch at Chacopata is flat or near-flat, with only tiny scraps of energy showing up, and almost every session is hammered by onshore or cross-onshore wind. It’s properly frustrating.

The water’s sitting at 79° – that’s about 3° cooler than normal for this time of year, so you’ll feel a bit of a chill compared to what you’d expect in late August.

We start off Saturday the 29th of August: clear skies but a stiff NE breeze at 16 mph blowing straight onto the reef. Swell? Tiny. A pathetic 0.3 ft from the ENE with a period of just 2 seconds – that’s pure wind slop. Combined energy is only 1 (weak). No shape, no push, just messy. Sunday the 30th is even worse – a total flat spell in the morning, and the afternoon throws up 0.5 ft of slop with cross-on wind making it choppy. No go.

Monday the 31st gives another flat morning, then a 0.6 ft from ENE with 3-second period – still garbage energy at 7 (weak). Tuesday 1st September is a write-off: flat morning, then a 0.4 ft lump with cross-on easterly wind. The pattern doesn’t let up. Wednesday 2nd through to Saturday 5th sees the same story – either flat or dribbles of 0.3 ft to 0.5 ft with NE winds holding it down. The few afternoons with a risk of thunderstorm don’t help the vibe.

Sunday 6th September offers a 0.4 ft from ENE in the morning, but the afternoon wind jumps to a strong breeze at 25 mph – that’s kite-surfing territory, not surfing. Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th are more of the same: tiny swell, cross-onshore wind, and lumpy conditions. Wednesday 9th September is a slight tease – the swell period bumps to 6 seconds on a 0.1 ft from NE, but that’s still only 2 (weak) energy, and the wind is light cross-onshore. You might see a tiny waist-high ripple, but it’s barely surfable.

From Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th September, it’s back to flat mornings and tiny afternoon slop – 0.3 ft to 0.5 ft, all wind-driven, all rubbish. The final couple of days on the 12th and 13th have a fresh to strong breeze keeping everything blown out.

There’s just no standout here. Not one session worth calling a highlight. The only break we’ve got is Chacopata itself – a consistent reef break that’s normally reliable, but it’s been starved of any proper groundswell. The optimum swell direction is from the NE, and what little we get is from that direction, but it’s so short-period and weak it doesn’t matter. Crowds are sometimes there, but honestly? No one’s paddling out in this.

For beginners, anything over 5 ft would be too much – not an issue here. The biggest we see is 0.6 ft, so it’s safe but totally flat. For experts, there’s nothing to ride.

We’ve got a 16-day gap of near-nothing. That’s not normal for this area – Chacopata usually picks up more – but when the charts are this quiet, you just gotta wait. Forecasts can change, so don’t lose hope entirely. But right now? Keep your board in the car and your feet on the sand.

Rusty

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