Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s happening in your neck of the woods. I got the numbers in front of me, and I gotta be straight with you – this ain’t a pretty picture for the next two weeks. We got a long stretch of onshore wind and messy conditions, and it’s gonna take a while before anything resembling a decent wave shows up.

Right off the bat, from Monday the 24th of August all the way through to the end of the month, it’s pretty much a write-off. The wind is hammering in from the east, blowing cross-onshore every single day. The swell is tiny, mostly around 3 ft to 5 ft, with a short, weak period of around 5 to 8 seconds. The combined energy is low to moderate at best – just not enough push. And even when the height ticks up a little, that wind just chops everything up. It’s gonna be lumpy, bumpy, and generally not worth paddling out for.

We do see a bit of a pulse starting on Tuesday the 1st of September. The swell bumps up to 6 ft, and the period stretches out to 13 seconds, giving us some proper groundswell energy. The combined energy jumps to a strong 1121 on Tuesday morning, so there is some real power in the water. But here’s the problem – the wind is still cross-onshore from the ENE. That’s gonna make for a choppy, bumpy surface. It’s marginal at best, and honestly, with that side wind, it likely won't be much fun.

The wind eases slightly on Wednesday the 2nd of September morning, with a gentler 9 mph breeze from the ENE. The swell holds at 5 ft with a 12-second period, and the energy is still strong at 764. This is probably the closest we get to a window, but it’s still a cross-onshore wind, which means the surface will be bumpy. Not a standout, just the best of a bad bunch.

After that, it’s a long, slow fade out. By Thursday the 3rd, the swell is already dropping, and by the weekend of the 5th and 6th, we’re back to tiny, weak waves with strong onshore winds. The last few days of the outlook are just sad – small swell, short periods, and that relentless east wind.

So here’s the honest truth: there are no standout days in this 16-day window. The only spot on the menu is Cabarete. It’s a reef break, exposed to the swell, but it’s also exposed to that nasty east wind. The guidance says the optimum swell direction is from the NE, but almost everything we’re getting is from the E or ENE, so the direction ain’t doing us any favours either. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so at least you won’t freeze while you’re staring at the chop.

Because of that consistent cross-onshore wind and the constant chop, a beach setup like this frankly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing right now. Don’t force it – sometimes the ocean just says no. It won’t stay poor forever, but for now, give it a miss.

Rusty.

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