Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s get into it.

Alright, so for Cabarete, we’ve got a 16-day window and honestly, it’s a tough stretch. The surf is pretty much a no-go from start to finish. The wind is relentless out of the east, hammering the reef with a cross-onshore flow that’s just ruining any chance of a clean wave. The swell is small and weak, mostly under 5 ft, and the period is short, rarely breaking 8 seconds, so there’s just no push or shape to work with. The combined wave energy (108) on day one is weak, and it never really gets into a good range, topping out at moderate (369) late on the 30th of July, but the wind is still fresh and lumpy. This is a period where you’re better off waiting for a change in the weather.

The first real surf we see is on Friday, 17th July, but it’s not worth a paddle. Cabarete (reef break) is exposed to the NE, and the swell is coming from the east at 4 ft, with a period of just 6 seconds. The water is 83°F, which is about average for this time of year, with a normal anomaly of 0.2°F. But the wind is a moderate breeze from the east at 15 mph, cross-on, and it’s choppy. The surf is poor. The whole weekend is a write-off with the same story: east wind, cross-on, and small, weak swell. The combined energy is moderate at best, hitting 198 on the 19th, but the wind is fresh and lumpy.

We move through the next week and it’s more of the same. Monday the 20th, east wind 15-19 mph, cross-on, swell 4 ft to 5 ft, period 7 seconds, poor. Tuesday the 21st, a little drop in size and energy (104). Wednesday the 22nd, the swell dips to 3 ft, energy 89 – weak. It stays like this all the way through to the 25th of July, with the wind never letting up.

The 26th of July, Sunday, we see the swell push to 5 ft in the afternoon, period 8 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 266 – that’s moderate, but the wind is still a fresh cross-on from the east at 19 mph, making it lumpy. Still poor. The 27th and 28th have similar energy (200-247), but the wind is still cross-on. The swell direction is east, which is not the optimum NE for this break, so it’s not lining up well.

From the 29th of July to the 1st of August, the swell holds a little more ground, with the 30th of July afternoon seeing the highest combined energy at 369, but it’s still coming from the east with a fresh cross-on wind. The morning of the 29th has a gentle breeze, but it’s still cross-on and fairly choppy. The surf quality is never good.

Look, if you’re a kiteboarder, this setup might be interesting with the strong, consistent east wind and the modest swell, but for a surfer, there’s nothing here. The whole 16 days is a blank run. That’s not unusual for this area when the trade winds lock in from the east. Forecasts can change, but right now, I wouldn’t bother waxing up.

Rusty.

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