Playa de Vega (Ribadesella) — local surf knowledge
The wave
Playa de Vega is a long, open beach in eastern Asturias, in the municipality of Ribadesella, tucked between cliffs and with a sandy bottom. It faces north and is exposed, so it picks up swell easily.
- Type of wave: beach break, with peaks that move depending on how the sandbanks are
- Workable size: its window is wide — from the moment San Lorenzo shows 0.7 m there is already a usable wave, and it holds well up to 1.6 m
- Its best day: San Lorenzo between 0.8 and 1.6 m, a long period and a southerly wind
- Too big: above 1.6 m at San Lorenzo it is oversized; from 1.8 m it is no longer worth it
Swell direction
- Best: from west to north, between 281° and 10° — that is the good window and it covers almost all the swell that reaches this coast
- From the east: it works, but it needs 0.4 m more size to deliver the same, and even then it does not reach the level of a north-west day
Period
- 7 s minimum: below that the wave arrives with no power
- From 12 s it works at its best, and it holds the whole range up to 14 s
- A long period does not spoil the wave unless it also comes in very big
Wind
- Offshore (ideal): the whole sector from east to south-west — E, SE, S and SW groom the wave. It is a wide sector, so there are plenty of days with a favourable wind
- Onshore (bad): northerly and north-westerly components mess it up
- Cross-shore: a westerly comes in at an angle and takes away, without killing the day
Tide
- Best on a mid to high tide
- It breaks best on a full tide; a spring low takes away the most, though it does not cancel it out