Arrieta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s have a good hard look at what’s cooking for the next couple of weeks.

Frankly, I’m looking at this and my heart sinks a little. The whole 16-day window for Arrieta is a tough run. We’ve got a lot of swell energy, no doubt about it, but the wind is just constantly smashing it from the cross and cross-off directions, which wrecks the surface. Every single session across the entire period is rated as poor surf conditions. There are no standout days for a clean, proper wave. The best I can say is that from Monday the 20th through to the 27th, we get some cleaner conditions with a cross-off wind, but it’s still a strong breeze, making it messy. The swell direction is almost always from the NNE, which isn’t the optimum N direction this sheltered reef is looking for.

The water temp is 73°, and that’s a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won’t need a thick suit, but it’s small comfort when the waves are a write-off.

Let’s walk through it. It starts quiet with poor conditions on Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th. Monday the 20th shows some clean wind in the morning, but the swell is 8 ft from the NNE with a short period of 8 seconds. The energy is moderate (603). That’s not a good recipe. The whole first week is just a grind of fresh to strong breezes ruining what could be decent sized swells.

Heading into the second week, it gets worse. By the 28th, the swell is hitting 8 ft with a period of 9 seconds, energy ramping up to strong (920), but the wind is a messy strong cross-shore. On the 29th, it gets big – 10 ft from the NNE with 9-second period and very strong energy (1533). That is too big for most and the wind is still cross. Only experts could even think about it, and even then, it’s going to be a washing machine out there.

We finally see a drop in wind towards the end, with a moderate breeze on the 1st and 2nd of August, and the swell drops to a more manageable 5 ft to 7 ft with a slightly longer period of 9 to 10 seconds. But it’s still a cross-shore wind, giving a cross-chop. The water will be messy.

Honestly, for a sheltered reef like Arrieta, this is a poor run. There’s nothing to recommend as a standout. The whole 16-day window is a write-off. It’s a blank run. For the area, that’s not unheard of, but it always hurts to say it. The setup with all this wind and significant swell is actually looking more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. If you have to get wet, maybe that’s your angle.

Stay patient. It tends not to stay this poor forever.

Rusty.

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