Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – we’re in a flat spell for Cabarete. The forecast window stretches out a full sixteen days, but there’s not a single session I’d recommend paddling out for. The whole run is a write-off.

Starting from today, Monday the 14th of September, it’s all cross-onshore winds – mostly from the east, blowing 9 to 19 mph – and the swell’s gutless. Monday morning you’re looking at a tiny 2 ft easterly slop with a short 10-second period and weak energy (103). That combo just makes for choppy, poor surf. By Monday afternoon the wind picks up to 16 mph, still cross-onshore, and the swell barely bumps to 3 ft – energy’s a bit higher at 128 but the quality’s still rubbish.

Tuesday the 15th is clear skies but no relief: morning has 2 ft of east swell, energy drops to 65, and that 16 mph easterly wind is messing it up. Afternoon bumps to 3 ft but the period drops to 9 seconds and the wind hits 19 mph – lumpy, poor conditions. Wednesday the 16th stays grim: 3 ft in the morning with a 6-second period and 65 energy, then 3 ft in the afternoon but still short-period and cross-onshore. Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th are more of the same – east swell around 3 ft to 4 ft, period stuck at 7 seconds, and fresh cross-onshore winds making a mess. Energy on Friday afternoon reaches 146, but with that wind direction and short period, it’s just lumpy and poor.

Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th see a slight drop in wind to 9 mph at times, but the swell’s tiny – 2 ft and 2 ft – and still cross-onshore. The next week is no better: Monday the 21st through Wednesday the 23rd brings swell heights between 1.0 ft and 3 ft, periods all over the place from 4 to 10 seconds, and still that cross-onshore wind. Thursday the 24th finally sees a brief onshore wind from the NE at 6 mph in the morning, but the swell is only 2 ft with 9-second period and energy of 53 – still poor. By Friday the 25th the swell nudges up to 3 ft from the east with 8-second period and energy of 149, but the wind swings back to cross-onshore at 12 mph.

The final weekend – Saturday the 27th and Sunday the 28th of September – stays poor: tiny swell, cross-onshore winds, and no quality. Even the last few days of the window, Monday the 28th and Tuesday the 29th, show swell around 3 ft to 4 ft with 6-second period, but the energy maxes out at 176 – still cross-onshore and poor.

The water’s sitting at 85°F, which is about normal for this time of year, so at least a dip feels nice, but there’s nothing here for a surfer. The break at Cabarete (Dominican Republic) is a reef setup that usually likes NE swell, but the wind is blowing from the wrong direction every day, and the swell’s too small and short-period to do anything. With this persistent cross-onshore breeze and weak energy, it’s more of a kite session than a paddle session.

Keep an eye on the long-range – things can turn around, but for now, leave the board at home.

Rusty

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