Anglet - La Madrague Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break down the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, don’t get your hopes up too high. We’ve got a few windows where it might be worth a paddle, but there’s a lot of junk to sit through. The water is sitting at a very unusual 77°F at the start, which is a full 7°F warmer than you’d expect for this time of year – that’s a proper anomaly.

The first real chance to get wet is Monday morning, 20 July, at Anglet - La Madrague. It’s a beach and jetty spot, and it’s fairly consistent. We’re looking at a tiny 3 ft swell from the NNW with a short 6-second period, giving weak energy (70). But the wind is glassy, coming out of the WNW at just 3 mph. It’s small, clean, and perfect for a beginner. The crowd factor is "sometimes", so it won’t be empty, but it’s a good spot for a learner to get some practice on a foamie.

After that Monday morning window, it gets pretty grim. From Monday afternoon right through to the morning of Friday, 24 July, the conditions are poor. The wind turns onshore or cross-onshore, and the swell stays puny. The period is short, and the energy is weak. There’s a brief moment on Wednesday morning, 22 July, and again on Thursday morning, 23 July, with a clean cross-offshore wind from the NE, but the swell is still only 3 ft. It’s surfable but very ordinary.

Friday morning, 24 July, is glassy again with a tiny 2 ft swell, but it’s just too small to get excited about.

Then things get messy. The weekend of 25-26 July sees a jump in swell size but it comes with strong onshore winds. Saturday morning has the wind howling from the W at 22 mph, with a 4 ft onshore mess. Saturday afternoon pulls in a 6 ft swell from the WNW, but it’s still onshore from the W at 19 mph, with moderate wind energy (337). Sunday is more of the same. That 6 ft to 8 ft groundswell is too big for beginners and the onshore wind will chop it up. For a beach and jetty break like this, it’s looking more like a kite session than a paddle session.

The second week is a bit of a write-off. The swell sticks around 3 ft to 4 ft from the NW with a decent 9-second period, but the wind is consistently onshore or cross-onshore. There’s a glassy window on the morning of Thursday, 30 July, with a 3 ft NW swell and 9-second period, giving moderate energy (166). It’s clean, but it’s just "surfable" – nothing to write home about. The morning of Sunday, 2 August, has a clean offshore from the ENE at 6 mph with a 3 ft NW swell, but again, it’s small.

Honestly, the standout window is the Monday morning, 20 July. It’s the only time the stars align for good wind and a surfable wave, even if it’s tiny. The rest of the forecast is a lesson in patience. It’s a normal run for an exposed beach break like this – when it’s poor, it tends to stay poor for a bit, but forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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