Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Cabarete over the next couple of weeks.

Straight up, I gotta be honest with you – this is a tough run. The whole 16-day window is pretty much a write-off for decent paddle surfing. The wind is almost constantly cross-onshore from the east or east-northeast, and it’s got some kick to it, 12 to 19 mph, making the surface lumpy and choppy. The swell is small and weak, mostly around 2ft to 5ft, with short periods of 5 to 8 seconds, so there’s no real push or shape to it. The combined energy is mostly in the two-digit range, barely cracking 100 (118) on the 22nd, which tells you the ocean is just not fired up.

Cabarete is a reef break, and it’s exposed to the northeast, which is the optimum swell direction. But with the wind coming from the wrong side and the swell so weak and short-period, it’s just messy. The water temperature is 84°F with a tiny anomaly of +0.9°F, so it’s pretty average for this time of year – nice and warm, but that’s the only thing going for it.

The only tiny flicker of hope comes right at the end of the first week. On the 31st of August, the swell bumps up to 6ft to 7ft with a period of 9 to 10 seconds from the ENE and E. The combined energy jumps massively to 785 and 932, showing there’s finally some real grunt in the water. But here’s the killer – the wind is still fresh cross-onshore at 19 mph, so even with that size, it’s going to be a lumpy, wind-blown mess. Not a standout.

Then on the 1st of September, we get a brief window of light offshore winds from the NE (6 mph) and the swell is 4ft to 4ft with a 10-second period (energy of 326 and 263). That’s the only time in the whole forecast the wind is truly offshore. The file calls it “marginal,” and I’d agree – the tide might be an issue, and the swell’s not huge, but it’s the cleanest it’ll be. If you’re desperate, that’s your session. After that, it drops back into the same cross-onshore chop for the rest of the run.

So, bottom line: there’s no real standout. The 1st of September morning is the pick of a very bad bunch. For the rest of it, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the constant side-shore wind. It’s a dry spell, but with breaks like this, it tends not to stay poor forever. Keep an eye on the forecasts.

Rusty.

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