Boucau Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cooking for you in the coming weeks.

First off, I gotta be straight with you – it's a bit of a flat spell. The water's sitting at a balmy 75°, which is a solid 4° warmer than usual for this time of year. That's pretty unusual, like the ocean is having a late summer heatwave. But for the wave quality, it's a different story. The energy is weak, coming in at a lousy 96 (combined swell energy) for the foreseeable future. The first recommendation isn't until Tuesday morning, August 11th, and even then, it's a real small one.

Tuesday morning, the 11th, at Boucau. The swell is tiny, just 2ft from the NW, with a period of 9 seconds. But the wind is glassy, dead calm. That's the only thing going for it. The waves are there, but they're ordinary. By the afternoon, the wind swings cross-onshore and it's all over. Wednesday morning, the 12th, is similar – another 2ft NW swell, dead calm again, making for a glassy surface, but the wave energy is even weaker, just 56. It's a surfable bump, but nothing to write home about.

The pattern keeps repeating. Thursday and Friday are a write-off with onshore winds. Saturday morning, the 15th, gives us another tiny pulse, 2ft from the WNW, with a 9-second period. The wind is light from the north, offering a glassy start again. Then Sunday the 16th, the morning looks interesting with a 3ft WNW swell, a short 5-second period, and dead calm conditions. The energy is still low at 70, but it's glassy. Don't expect any power.

Looking further out, the models are trying to build something. Monday the 17th sees a 4ft NW swell, but the period is dropping to 8 seconds, and the wind is onshore. Tuesday the 18th bumps up to 5ft NW swell, but the period is a short 6 seconds and the wind is a mess. That 5ft swell with a 6-second period and cross-onshore wind is going to be a messy, choppy, close-out shorebreak. It might be more interesting for the kite surfers than paddle surfers.

The one standout, and it's a long-range promise, is Thursday the 20th of August. Thursday morning we see a 2ft NW swell, but the period is a very long 12 seconds. The wind is glassy. The combined energy jumps to 169. That's a proper groundswell pulse. A 12-second period with glassy conditions at Boucau could be really clean. But with a period that long, it might be a bit too straight for a beach break. The afternoon gets a bit bigger, 4ft from the NW at 11 seconds, with onshore wind, but that morning session is the one to watch. It's a long way off, so don't bank on it, but it's the only real hope in this outlook.

Other than that, the 22nd of August has a tiny 1ft WNW swell with a clean cross-offshore wind from the SSE in the morning, but it's small. The rest of the window is just more of the same: small, weak, and generally messy.

So, to be honest, the best bet is keeping an eye on Thursday the 20th for a possible glassy long-period treat. The rest is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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