Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you about the Cabarete outlook. Looking at the whole 16-day window, it’s a tough stretch. The forecast is a long run of cross-onshore winds and choppy, lumpy conditions that are just not giving us clean surfing waves. The first surf recommendation doesn't appear until Friday, July 24th, and even then, it's a struggle. There are no true standouts in this period.

From Friday, July 24th right through to Saturday, August 8th, the wind is relentless from the east and east-northeast, blowing cross-onshore at 9 to 22 mph. The wave energy is mostly weak to moderate, with combined swell energy readings mostly in the low to mid hundreds (e.g., 97, 143, 226), but a couple of afternoons jump to moderate at 360 and 398. The swell height stays between 1 ft and 6 ft through the period, with short periods of 6 to 8 seconds, which means weak, weak waves.

The only break in the lineup is Cabarete, a reef break here in the Dominican Republic that’s on the exposed side and needs wind from the NE to be good. We’re getting the opposite. Water temperature is 83°F with a normal anomaly of 0.4°F, so it’s warm as usual for this time of year.

For the first week, starting July 24th, the swell is small and the wind is just awful. It’s all poor surf conditions. By Thursday, July 30th, the swell picks up to 6 ft (combined energy 360) but it’s still cross-onshore and lumpy. That’s a bit of size, but the wind will make it a washing machine. For beginners, anything over 5 ft is a handful, so that session is for experienced surfers only, and even they will be fighting the chop.

Heading into the second week, from August 4th, the swell drops back down to 2 ft and 3 ft, still with that same cross-onshore breeze. The energy drops to under 100 and then 121. The only change is on August 6th, when the period jumps to 12-13 seconds, but the swell is tiny at 1 ft. That means long, clean lines but no push to get you in. Finally, on Saturday, August 8th, we see a pulse of 5 ft swell with energy hitting 398, but it's still cross-onshore with a short 7-second period, so it’s the same story: messy.

Honestly, for most of this period, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The wind is consistent and onshore, and the waves are choppy. If you have to paddle out, look for a window of lighter wind, like the gentle breezes on the mornings of July 28th and 29th, but the wave quality is still poor. It’s a blank run. The forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a tough one for Cabarete.

Rusty.

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