Ilbaritz - Bora Bora Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: looking out over the next couple of weeks, this stretch is flat and pretty lifeless for the most part. We’ve got a long, quiet gap ahead before anything with a bit of pulse shows up. The water is sitting at 76° at Ilbaritz – Bora Bora, which is about 5° warmer than normal for this time of year, so it’s noticeably balmy out there, but that’s about the only thing getting us excited for a while.

Right now, through the 7th and into the 8th, it’s tiny. We’re talking ankle-biters at best. Friday afternoon has a bit of cross-on breeze with a weak 2ft at 6 seconds and energy at 46 – poor. Saturday morning goes glassy but the swell drops to 2ft and the energy’s down at 18. Honestly, you’d be better off having a sleep-in. This continues right through the week. The swell direction is hanging in the NW, but it’s short-period slop. Even the glassy windows on Tuesday morning and again on Thursday the 13th only bring 2ft and 1ft respectively. The energy readings stay weak – mostly double digits, barely cracking 100. On Sunday the 9th, we nudge to 101 in the afternoon, but it’s just a bit of extra wind chop on 2ft at 10 seconds. Nothing to write home about.

We roll into the second week and there’s still nothing. Monday the 14th has a slight increase – 2ft to 3ft – but the period is short and the energy is only around 116 to 125. Still poor. The wind stays mostly cross-on or onshore, which just messes up the surface. Saturday the 15th has a bit more push at 2ft, but it’s straight onshore and messy. The following days are a repeat: small, weak, and uninspiring. The only glimmer comes on Sunday the 16th morning when it goes glassy again, but it’s only 2ft at 7 seconds – short and weak. The energy is 87. It’s surfable, but only just, and you’d be scratching for anything decent.

Then, we finally see something on the horizon. Friday the 21st – that’s a week from Friday – the swell finally kicks up. The morning shows 6ft from the NW at 9 seconds, and the energy jumps to 475, which is strong. Wind is a clean cross-off from the NNE, and it’s looking like the best conditions we’ve had in this whole stretch. This is the standout. It’s a reef break, exposed to that NW swell, so it should have some proper shape to it. It’s got the size, and with that cross-off breeze, it’s going to be clean. Afternoon sees it back off slightly to 5ft and the energy at 384, with a cross breeze, so the morning is definitely the window. But remember, as always, that’s a long way out, so treat it as promising rather than set in stone. Saturday the 22nd still has some size – 4ft – but the wind goes onshore and it gets messier.

So, if you’re keen, the next week is a write-off. The only real bright spot is that Friday morning. It’s been a long, flat run, but that pulse of energy is a good sign. It tends not to stay this poor for long. Keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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