Biarritz - Cote des Basques Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, looking at the long-range picture for Biarritz - Cote des Basques. Gotta be straight with you, this stretch is looking pretty grim for a while.

We’re kicking off from Thursday the 23rd of July, and frankly, it’s a write-off for the first week. The water is sitting at a very unusual 77°F, which is 7°F warmer than normal for this time of year, but you won't be enjoying it on a surfboard. The swell is tiny and weak – combined energy is only 33 – and it’s coming from the NNW with a short 6-second period. That’s not groundswell, that's just wind chop. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-on, ruining any chance of a clean wave. It’s a tough watch.

Through the 24th to the 26th, it’s the same sad story. Onshore winds pick up from the west and whip the ocean into a mess. The swell does build into Saturday the 25th, hitting 6ft in the morning and 8ft in the afternoon with moderate energy (277 to 706), but with fresh onshore winds, those waves will be blown-out and lumpy. Not where you want to be.

We finally see a glimmer of hope late on Monday the 28th. The morning session is a standout, so circle that date. Conditions will be glassy with a light easterly breeze, and we’ll have 4ft of NW groundswell with a 10-second period. The combined energy is a moderate 273, so there's some proper push. The break is exposed and the optimum swell is from the west, but this NW pulse should wrap in nicely. It’s a beach and reef setup, so it can handle a bit of angle. The only catch is this spot can get crowded, so expect company in the lineup.

The rest of that week remains marginal. After that Tuesday morning window, the wind goes cross-shore and messes it up again. We bounce in and out of tiny, weak, and onshore conditions right through the end of July.

Looking a full week ahead, Saturday the 2nd of August morning offers another potential window. The wind will be offshore from the east, and we'll have 5ft of NW swell with a moderate 8-second period. The combined energy will be 304. That offshore breeze makes this session the other real standout in this two-week outlook. These longer-range calls are always a bit less certain, but if that easterly holds, it could be the cleanest day of the whole stretch.

After that, it’s back to small, messy leftovers for the first week of August. A few glassy mornings on the 4th and 5th with tiny knee-high waves, but nothing to get excited about. The whole setup is so poor for so long, a blank run like this is tough, but forecasts can change. As it stands, you’ve got two short windows: the morning of Tuesday 28 July with glassy 4ft NW swell, and the morning of Sunday 2 August with clean 5ft NW swell and offshore wind. That’s the best this report has to offer.

Rusty.

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