Ilbaritz - Bora Bora Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m lookin’ straight at the forecast for Ilbaritz - Bora Bora. It’s a reef break, exposed to the west swell, and it’s got a bit of a reputation for being fairly consistent. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

The first half of the outlook has a few decent windows, but it’s a choppy mess for a lot of it. The real standout is comin’ up on Sunday, September 6th. That mornin’, we’ve got a solid 5 ft of NW swell rollin’ in with a 12-second period. The combined energy is moderate at 661, and with that light ESE breeze at 3 mph, it’s gonna be clean. That’s the best on offer for the whole run – a proper mornin’ session before the wind swings onshore in the afternoon. It’s an intermediate reef break, so it’s manageable if you’ve got a bit of experience.

Monday and Tuesday are a write-off with onshore junk and poor conditions. Wednesday the 9th gets a spike of 10 ft of NW swell, but the wind is a messy cross-onshore at 16 mph, and the period is a short 9 seconds. That’s a lot of raw energy (1165), but it’s gonna be a wind-blown, choppy, expert-only washin’ machine. Not worth paddlin’ out for the average surfer.

Then we get a bit of a reprieve on Thursday, September 10th. The mornin’ is glassy with an ESE breeze at 3 mph, and 4 ft of NW swell at 10 seconds. The combined energy is 377, so it’s got some push. That’s a clean, fun mornin’, but it’s not as big as the Sunday.

After that, it’s a long stretch of small, weak, or wind-affected waves. The period drops to 8-9 seconds and the energy drops below 100 at times. There’s a glassy mornin’ on Saturday the 12th, but it’s only 3 ft – not much to get excited about.

The second week is a bit of a mixed bag. There’s a clean mornin’ on Sunday, September 13th with a light offshore breeze and 3 ft of NW swell, and another one on Monday, September 14th with similar conditions. The best of the second week might be Tuesday, September 15th – a glassy mornin’ with 2 ft of very long-period NW swell (14 seconds). That’s a groundswell, and on a reef, it could be lined up real nice, but only for those who know the spot. It’s not big, but it’ll be clean and have some real energy.

The rest of the second week is mostly onshore wind and poor quality. The last real chance is Saturday, September 19th – a glassy mornin’ with 4 ft of NW swell at 10 seconds. That’s a clean, fun little session to wrap things up.

Overall, if you’re only pickin’ one session, it’s Sunday mornin’, September 6th. That’s the standout. The Thursday mornin’ and the glassy mornin’s in the second week are backups, but nothin’ beats that first call.

Rusty.

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