Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a good, hard look at what Cabarete has for us over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch.

The whole outlook is a bit of a battle with the wind. We’ve got easterly and southeasterly breezes blowing cross-onshore or fresh cross-onshore for the entire 16-day window. That means the surface is going to be messy – choppy, lumpy, and just generally not what you want for a clean, smooth ride. The swell is coming from the east almost exclusively, with a short, weak period, mostly around 6 to 8 seconds. The wave energy is mostly in the moderate range, with readings between 84 and 432, but it’s all pretty junky. There are no standout days in this forecast.

Friday, July 3rd kicks things off, but it’s nothing to get excited about. Clear skies in the morning don’t help much when the wind is 12 mph from the ENE, making for a cross-onshore chop. Swell is a tiny 3 ft from the east with a short 6-second period, and the combined energy is a weak 85. Water temp is a pleasant 83°, which is bang on average for this time of year. Not worth paddling out.

This poor quality just repeats. Saturday and Sunday, July 4th and 5th, are the same story: cross-onshore winds, short-period east swell between 3 ft and 4 ft. The combined energy creeps up a bit to 118 on Sunday, but the wind ruins any chance of decent waves.

Monday, July 6th through Wednesday, July 8th sees the swell building a little, hitting 5 ft by Wednesday afternoon. The wave energy climbs into the moderate range, peaking at 325 on Wednesday afternoon. But the wind is relentless – still cross-onshore or cross-shore with a chop. The east swell stays short at 7-8 seconds, so the waves will be weak and crumbly. Not the quality we’re after.

Thursday, July 9th through Saturday, July 11th offers the biggest swell of the period. On Friday the 10th, we see 6–6 ft of east swell, with combined energy reaching 432. That’s the beefiest energy in the whole forecast. But again, the wind is a fresh cross-onshore at 19–22 mph. It’s going to be a lumpy, wind-affected mess. Especially on Friday the 10th, the swell is over 5 ft and combined with those strong onshore winds and a beach setup, this is looking more interesting for the kite surfers than for paddle surfers.

From Sunday, July 12th through the end of the forecast on Saturday, July 18th, the swell drops back to a consistent 4 ft to 5 ft from the east, with periods of 6-8 seconds and moderate energy. The wind doesn’t let up – it’s a solid easterly breeze the whole time, always cross-onshore. The surf quality remains poor throughout.

Honestly, there’s no highlight here. The whole 16-day window is a write-off for quality surf because of the constant onshore wind and short, weak swell. Keep the board in the bag and wait for a better forecast.

- Rusty

Read more