Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's happening in our corner. The outlook's pretty grim, I gotta say. We're looking at a long stretch where there's just nothing good on offer. The first week and a half is completely done in by cross-onshore winds that are gonna ruin any shape those weak little waves might have. It's not until the very end of the run that we see a potential glimmer, but it's a long way off and the wind is still a problem.

Monday the 10th kicks it off with some clouds and a fresh 18.6 mph cross-onshore breeze from the East. We've got 3.9ft of weak, short-period windswell on the menu and it's just plain messy. That sets the tone for day after day: moderate to fresh easterly winds, constantly onshore, keeping Cabarete lumpy and choppy. The water temperature sits around 84° which is about average for this time of year. The combined swell energy is mostly weak to moderate, hitting 146 on that first day and then bouncing around in the low three digits. There's just nothing to get excited about.

We go through the whole second week with the same story. The swell does try to build a bit – by Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th we see a medium-period swell (8 seconds) with a height of 5.6ft building to 6.2ft. The combined energy for those days ranges from 334 to a moderate 442. But the wind is still howling in from the East at 15.5 to 21.7 mph, cross-onshore, so the wave quality is described as poor. It's one of those situations where if you're after a kite session, maybe it's interesting, but for a paddle surfer, it's just a battle.

Now, the most interesting part of the whole forecast is the very last weekend and into the following week. From Monday the 17th of August onward, the swell source changes. We start seeing some serious energy. On Monday afternoon the 17th, the combined energy jumps to 1144, with a 6.2ft swell and a period of 12 seconds. That's a proper groundswell. The following days (Tuesday the 18th) stay solid with 5.2ft at 10 seconds and energy around 492 to 681. The issue remains the same though: the wind is a persistent cross-onshore from the East. That long-period groundswell, which would be incredible at a point or reef if it were glassy, is going to get chopped up. Unless that Easterly trend changes, we're looking at a lot of energy going to waste.

Cabarete is a consistent spot, so this blank run is a bit of a rough patch, but it won't last forever. For now, don't even bother paddling out this week. If that late-period swell holds and the wind miraculously drops, we could have something on our hands around Monday the 24th or Tuesday the 25th, but those dates are a long way out and the forecast shows more of the same cross-onshore wind. Keep the board in the rack for now.

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