Arrieta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got the outlook for you. Honestly, mate, the next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for the Arrieta area. There’s a decent amount of swell in the water, but the wind is just ruining it for us. We’re looking at a long stretch of average to poor conditions.

The first real chance of anything surfable doesn’t even pop up until early Monday morning, 17th August. That’s a solid gap of a few days with nothing worth paddling out for. The trade winds have been howling from the north-northeast, creating lumpy, cross-chopped-up waves that are just no fun. The water temp is sitting at 74°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year – about 2° above average, so it’s a nice feeling when you’re sitting out there, but the waves themselves are the problem.

Monday morning, 17th August, the wind finally eases and shifts to a light north-northwest cross-offshore breeze. The swell is small at 4 ft, coming from the north with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is moderate (257). It’s clean, but it’s just ordinary. This is the best we’ve got, and it’s not saying much. The break is a reef setup, Arrieta, which is a sheltered spot, but it’s known to be inconsistent. For a spot that rarely breaks, seeing it with clean lines is a small win, even if the waves are small and weak. The light offshore wind is a major positive here, giving you clean faces, but the swell is too small to get excited about.

The swell pushes up a bit around Tuesday, 25th August, with combined energy jumping to a strong 519, but the wind is straight back to a fresh north-northeast cross-shore, mangling the 6 ft north swell. The period is a short 8 seconds, so it’s choppy, messy, and frankly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The conditions are similar right through the end of the forecast period, with onshore winds and lumpy surf. The final day, 29th August, has a very strong energy reading of 796, but it’s all cross-shore wind and poor-quality waves. The morning of 28th August has a clean cross-offshore wind, but it’s still a marginal forecast with a 6 ft north swell. It’s tempting, but the wind is fresh and the quality is just not there.

Bottom line: don’t get your hopes up. The first week is a write-off, and the second week is just more of the same. If you’re desperate, Monday morning the 17th is your best bet for a clean, if small, session. Otherwise, keep your board in the garage.

Rusty.

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