Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – the outlook for Cabarete over the next 16 days is a tough one to write. We’re looking at a long stretch of onshore wind and messy conditions, so don’t go getting your hopes up too high.

The main issue is the wind. It’s going to be blowing from the east and east-southeast for the entire period, right into the face of the swell. This means cross-onshore winds are the story from Thursday the 13th of August, all the way through to the end of the month. The swell is coming from the same direction, so there’s no shelter from the chop. The wave energy is weak to moderate most of the time, with combined energy values (102) starting off low, building to a moderate 545 on Monday the 17th, but it’s all a jumbled mess.

Let’s break it down. For the first week, from Thursday the 13th through to about Wednesday the 19th, the swell is on the small side, around 3ft to 6ft, with a short period of 7 to 8 seconds. That’s pure wind swell, and with the wind howling at 15 to 22 mph, it’s going to be chopped and lumpy. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual there. Honestly, Thursday the 13th and Friday the 14th are a write-off. The surf is poor, and the setup might be more interesting for kite surfing than paddling into a washing machine.

There is a little pulse of longer-period swell around Monday the 17th and Tuesday the 18th, pushing 5ft to 6ft with a period of 10 seconds. The energy jumps up to 545 (combined energy) which is a moderate pulse, but don’t get excited. The cross-onshore wind is still there, so it’ll be a bumpy, lumpy ride. Not a total loss if you’re desperate, but not a standout by any means.

The second week, from the 20th of August onwards, the swell drops back down. Heights sit between 2ft and 5ft, and the period is short again, 6 to 8 seconds. The wind refuses to let up, and we’re back to weak to moderate energy, with values like 89 (combined energy) on the 24th. The only glimmer is on Sunday the 23rd of August, when the wind swings briefly to the SSE at 9 mph, giving us a clean, cross-offshore condition. The swell is only 3ft with a 6-second period, so it’s small and weak, but it’s the cleanest window we’ll see. That morning is your best bet for a couple of clean, if small, waves.

The long and short of it is: there are no real standouts in this 16-day window. The consistent east wind is the enemy, and the swell is mostly weak and short-period. If you’ve got a kite, you’ll have a ball. For a surf, Sunday the 23rd morning is the only time I’d even bother paddling out. Otherwise, save your energy and wait for the next forecast.

Rusty.

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