Arrieta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab your coffee, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been staring at the charts for our spot, Arrieta. It’s a sheltered reef that only pops off when the angles line up just right, and honestly, it’s been a tough watch. The entire 16-day forecast is a lean run, with a long stretch of poor conditions.

Looking at the first few days, from Monday the 27th up through the end of July, it’s frustrating. Swell hangs around 5ft to 6ft with a short period of 6 to 8 seconds, and the wind is a persistent moderate to fresh breeze out of the north or north-northeast. That’s giving us a cross or cross-off wind state, but the wave quality comments are all “poor surf conditions.” The combined swell energy sits between 259 and 403 – moderate energy – but it just isn't translating to anything rideable. The best I can say is that the morning of Monday the 27th has clean conditions, but still with poor surf. There’s no standout here.

We roll into August with a tiny glimmer. On Saturday the 1st, the afternoon shapes up with a NNE swell of 4ft and a 7 second period, but the big news is the wind goes glassy – a slight air from the NNW. The combined energy is 227 (moderate), and the report finally says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” For this spot, that’s the best you’re getting, but it's a far cry from good. That window is short-lived.

From Sunday the 2nd onward, it’s back into the grinder. We see a mix of cross-off and cross winds, with swell heights fluctuating from 3ft up to 10ft later in the second week. The longer-period stuff (8 seconds or so) shows up, and the combined energy climbs into the four-digit range – like 1526 on Tuesday the 11th of August – which indicates strong wave energy. But the wind stays a fresh to strong breeze, and the verdict for every single session is “poor surf conditions” or “marginal.” For Arrieta, that many days with a messy cross-chop and strong wind off the NNE makes the setup look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

If you’re a beginner, stay out of the water when it’s over 5ft – and it gets well past that. Anything over 8ft in this messy cross-onshore stuff is strictly for experts with a death wish, and even then, it’s not clean.

The water temp sits at a normal 72° for the time of year, so no wetsuit worries there. But as for the surf? It’s a dead run. With Arrieta being inconsistent and sheltered, a blank stretch like this isn’t unusual. Forecasts can change, but right now, I wouldn’t paddle out until we see a proper shift in the wind.

- Rusty

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