Arrieta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. I’ve been staring at the charts for Arrieta and, honestly, it’s a bit of a tough stretch ahead. We’ve got a solid run of swell on the way, but the wind is going to be the story, and it’s not a good one for a while.

The first few days, from Sunday the 9th through the weekend of the 15th and 16th, are going to be frustrating. There’s plenty of ocean movement, with wave heights hovering around the 5 to 6 feet mark, and the energy is moderate, with combined energy readings mostly in the 280 to 430 range. But it’s all coming from the NNE, and the wind is blowing from the same direction at 15 to 22 mph. That puts us in a cross or cross-offshore flow that’s going to leave the surface a mess. The comments say it all: “poor surf conditions.” It’s a lot of bump and chop, not the clean lines we want. This is a period where you’d be fighting the wind more than riding the waves. For a reef break like Arrieta, this kind of wind is a killer.

We finally get a bit of a break in the wind on Monday the 17th. It drops to 9 mph in the morning, and the conditions are described as “clean.” The swell drops too, down to about 3 feet, which is small, but with that lighter cross-offshore wind, it could be the best chance we get for a while. The energy is still weak at 134, but a clean, small wave beat a messy, bigger one any day. The swell is still from the N, which is a little off the optimum for this spot, but with the glassy conditions, it’s worth a look.

The middle of the week, the 18th and 19th, sees the swell start to build back up—5 to 6 feet—and the wind stays in a cross-off direction, which is encouraging. The energy is climbing back into the 150 to 335 range. It’s still not perfect, but there’s a chance for some cleaner sessions compared to the weekend before. The period is still short, around 6-7 seconds, so it’s not going to have a ton of push, but it’s something.

Then, from the 20th through the 24th, it looks like we’re back into the same pattern. The wind swings back to a stronger cross-shore flow, and the conditions get lumpy again. The swell stays around 5 to 6 feet, but the quality drops. The last day, the 24th, the swell just fades away to about 1 foot, so that’s a write-off.

So, here’s the bottom line. The standout is Monday the 17th. It’s small, but it’s clean, and that’s the rarest thing on offer. The 18th and 19th might have a few windows in the morning when the wind is lighter, but it’s a gamble. The rest of the window is a washout. With the wind and the short-period swell, this setup is going to be more fun for a kite than a paddleboard. It’s a frustrating outlook, but that’s the coast sometimes. You wait for the wind to drop, and when it does, you go.

Rusty.

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