Montañita Alert Guide

Santa Elena, Ecuador · part of the Montañita spot guide

Montañita is forecast-only — no buoy within roughly 1,900 km — so this is a model-swell alert. The point softens the swell via refraction, so the height below reads about one-to-two feet bigger than the breaking face. Note the offshore here is from the east-northeast off the land, not the southeast.

The forecaster's checklist

1. 1.Want swell from the south-southwest to west-northwest (about 200–310°), best in the southwest-to-west band; northwest pulses give the strongest rights.
2. 2.Look for period around 13 seconds or more — long period is what wraps the point; short-period swell is weak and choppy.
3. 3.Apply the refraction discount: read the model height as one-to-two feet bigger than the face you will ride.
4. 4.Score the dawn on an east-northeast offshore before the mid-morning sea breeze — worst onshore is June to August.
5. 5.Low tide is faster and hollower over the rock; mid-to-high is softer and longer — match to size and skill.

Local winds & tide

Best wind: ENE offshore (dawn & late afternoon) — from 20° to 110° (NNE–ESE).

Tide-sensitive despite no in-app tide series; low tide is faster and hollower over the rock sections, mid-to-high fuller, softer and longer.

Dial it in