Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, looking at the next 16 days for Cabarete. Gotta be straight with you – this is a tough run. The wind is relentless from the east, keeping a cross-on breeze on the reef all day, every day. That’s what’s killing the quality. The water’s sitting at a warm 84° currently, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so at least you won’t need a spring suit.

The outlook starts with a bit of a flat spell. From Wednesday afternoon the 19th of August right through the rest of the month, it’s all poor surf conditions. The wind stays fresh from the east, 12 to 18 mph, making everything choppy and lumpy. Swell heights bounce between 3 ft and 5 ft, but the periods are short – mostly 5 to 8 seconds – so there’s no power behind it. The combined energy is mostly weak to moderate (figures like 95 to 248), just enough to keep the surface messy. There’s nothing here worth paddling out for.

We do see a pulse of energy building around the 25th, with the swell hitting 5 ft and a combined energy of 242, but it’s still a short-period E windswell and the cross-on wind is even stronger. By the 28th, on Friday afternoon, the swell jumps to 7 ft with a 13-second period and a massive 1693 combined energy. That’s a lot of water moving around, but the forecast still says “poor surf conditions.” For a setup like Cabarete’s reef, that kind of energy with a strong cross-on wind is going to be a messy, blown-out situation. It’s too big for beginners, and honestly, even for the experienced crew, that wind is going to make it ugly. This looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The energy drops again after that, with a few more days of 5 ft to 5 ft swell but still that same stubborn cross-on wind. The combined energy stays moderate (between 141 and 713). The pattern continues into the first week of September. By the 2nd of September, the swell fades to 2 ft with a combined energy of only 74, and the wind is still cross-on from the ENE. The very last entry on the 3rd of September shows a tiny 1 ft morning swell.

Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. There is no standout window in this 16-day stretch. The wind is the enemy here, and it doesn’t let up. The 28th of August has the biggest swell of the whole period, but with the conditions as they are, it’s not a recommendation. The whole forecast is a gap of poor surf. If you’re desperate, you might find a grovelly wave on a lull in the wind, but honestly, I’d wait for the next forecast.

Rusty.

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