Punta de Lobos • Statistics for December

December: Estival South Swell Slant

December closes out the year with the South Pacific high firmly in charge, and Punta de Lobos slips back into its summer rhythm. The swell directions compress dramatically: WSW accounts for 72.5 percent of all energy, SW for 19 percent, and the W window shrinks to 7.4 percent. There is essentially no WNW-NW-NNW swell in the rose, so the spot relies again on long-period southwestern energy refracting onto its NNW-facing beach. Average height is 5ft (1.6m) and the average period is 12.4s - still packed with power, but with fewer of those westerly bombs that define the winter months.

Ideal surfing wind runs at 62 percent, with the offshore SW-SSW combination delivering over 60 percent of observations; when the onshore N-NNW quadrant does appear, around 11 percent combined, it tends to be light. Air temperatures are summerlike at 17.3°C (63°F), rainfall is negligible at 0.23 mm/day, and the ocean begins to warm again at 13.4°C (56°F). It is a friendly, forgiving season: consistent chest-to-head-high peaks with clean surfaces and plenty of rippable long-period waves. The XL days are gone, but for sheer fun-in-the-water quality, December rarely disappoints.