Ilbaritz - Bora Bora Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surf’s finally showing a pulse after a flat start. It’s gonna be a slow burn this week, but there’s a window of clean waves mid-week and a proper little run into the start of September that’s got my attention. Keep the faith, it’s coming.

First up, we’ve got nothing but small, short-period leftovers for the first couple of days. Tuesday and Wednesday are all about knee-high slop with weak energy (29 and 15-33 in the tank). There’s a glassy morning on Tuesday, but with waves that small, you’re just bobbing around. Not worth the paddle.

Then things start to wake up on Thursday the 20th. The morning is the pick – you’ve got a new NW groundswell at 4ft with an 11-second period, and it’s glassy. The energy jumps to 304, which is a solid step up. That’s your first real chance for a few clean ones at Ilbaritz (Bora Bora). The swell direction is straight out of the NW, which is exactly what this reef wants. Thursday afternoon gets a bit cross-onshore, so the morning session is the one.

Friday the 21st pushes a bit more size – 5ft – but the wind is all over the shop and it’s pretty marginal. The energy is up there (475), but it’s not going to be clean. You’re better off waiting.

Saturday the 22nd brings a bit of light rain but also a clean cross-offshore breeze from the ESE. It’s dropped back to 4-4ft, but it’s much more lined up. Another decent morning option.

Sunday the 23rd is smaller again, around 2-3ft, but clean. Just average, ordinary surf really.

Then we hit a flat, windy, and messy patch from Monday the 24th through to Wednesday the 27th. The swell is small and the wind is howling onshore from the west. This stretch looks like a write-off. Not even worth checking the cam.

Thursday the 28th starts to clean up a little with a light SE cross-offshore, but the waves are still only 3ft and fairly weak. Still pretty ordinary. Friday the 29th is more of the same – clean but small, with energy around 166-196. It’s surfable for the longboard, but nothing to get too excited about.

Saturday the 30th is interesting though. The afternoon shows a pulse of new NW swell at 5ft, and the wind is a clean cross-offshore from the NNE. Energy jumps to 347. That’s a decent pick for the end of the month. Sunday the 31st morning stays glassy with 4ft, but the afternoon gets blown out again.

Now, the real standout is September 1st. Tuesday afternoon. This is the one to circle on the calendar. The swell is 5ft and it’s a proper NW groundswell with an 11-second period, and the wind is glassy – complete flat calm. The energy is a very strong 595. Conditions should be completely clean, and that reef at Ilbaritz (Bora Bora) will be peeling nicely. This is the best of the whole run, no question. It’s a bit over a week out, so I’d call it promising rather than locked in, but everything is lining up for a special session.

Wednesday the 2nd holds onto that size at 5ft but the wind starts to get messy again in the afternoon. Morning might be okay with a light cross-shore, but it’s not the same as the day before.

One more thing – the water temp is nearly 77°F, which is a good five degrees above normal for this time of year. That’s pretty unusual, so the water’s gonna feel warm. You might not even need a spring suit.

Alright, that’s the picture. Get on it Thursday morning if you can, but don’t miss that Tuesday the 1st of September session. That’s the one.

Rusty.

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