Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. I’ve scanned the whole 16-day window for Cabarete, and I’ve got to be honest with you – it’s a tough one. The finder is throwing up a big fat zero across the board, every single session. There’s surf on the table, but the conditions are just getting in the way, and it’s a real shame.

Right now, through Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th, we’ve got a consistent east-northeast breeze blowing cross-on at 12 to 22 mph. The swell is there, reading 3 ft to 5 ft, but it’s short-period stuff (5 to 8 seconds) and the wind’s just tearing it up. The combined energy is moderate – around 105 to 161 – but it’s all getting chopped up and lumpy. It’s poor surf, plain and simple. The water temp is sitting at 83° with a normal anomaly, so it’s warm, but that doesn’t help the wave quality.

Thursday the 30th sees a bit of a bump in size, with the swell hitting 6 ft in the afternoon and energy jumping to 323. That’s a stronger pulse, but the wind is still fresh cross-on at 22 mph, making it lumpy. That 6 ft with short period and onshore wind is going to be a mess. This is a reef break, so the swell direction from the east is not matching the optimum northeast, which is another nail in the coffin.

The whole first week, right through to Saturday the 8th of August, is a repeating pattern: east or east-northeast wind, cross-on, 12 to 22 mph, and swell that’s barely breaking 5 ft. The energy stays moderate, often dipping below 100. It’s a solid run of poor surf, day after day. There’s no standout session, no clean window.

From Sunday the 9th of August into the final days, the pattern doesn’t let up. The swell gets smaller, energy drops into the weak range (42 to 112), and the wind stays fresh cross-on. The best you can say is that the water is warm, but for a surfer, it’s just frustrating. The consistency of the break is usually a plus, but here it’s just consistently poor.

The only bright spot I can see is that the surf is never completely flat. The swell is there, but it’s getting hammered by the wind. For a paddle surfer, there’s nothing to get excited about. If you’ve got a kite, this setup might actually look interesting – that strong cross-on wind over a 3 ft+ swell is prime for that. But for us on a surfboard, it’s a write-off.

Look, when few breaks are consistent like this, a blank run like this is more normal for the area. It’s not a fluke, it’s just the trade winds doing their thing. Forecasts can change, but right now, there’s nothing to recommend. Keep your gear ready, but don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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