Ilbaritz - Bora Bora Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's talk about what's on the menu for Ilbaritz - Bora Bora. We're looking at a classic reef break setup, exposed to the West, so it needs the right angle to light up. The whole 16-day run is a bit of a slow burn, with a whole lot of nothing happening for the first several days.

The opening stretch from Thursday the 23rd right through to Saturday the 26th of July is a write-off. We've got onshore and cross-onshore winds blowing hard, up to 19 mph, with weak, short-period windswell. The combined energy is pathetic, barely cracking 45 (45) on Thursday morning. The surf is just a messy, chopped-up disappointment. Don't even bother paddling out.

Then, on Sunday the 27th of July, we finally get a moment. The morning brings a glassy, clean surface with a nice little jump in swell quality. The swell is a solid 4ft from the NW with a period of 10 seconds, a proper groundswell with a combined energy of 330 (330). The wind is a light NNE breeze, making it glassy. This is the standout window of the whole forecast. The morning session on Monday the 27th of July is the best bet. The waves will have some shape, but that 10-second period at a reef break like this means it'll be a bit more walled-up than a peaky beachie. It's a sweet spot for an intermediate surfer.

Tuesday the 28th of July morning is also a sneaky good option. Another glassy morning with offshore ESE wind, with the same 4ft, NW swell, and 268 (268) of combined energy. It's a repeat of the good conditions, but Monday morning edges it out for the slightly higher energy.

After that, the swell slowly fades and the wind gets messy again. From Wednesday the 29th of July through to the end of the first week of August, it's mostly small, weak, and wind-affected. The morning of Monday the 3rd of August offers a brief moment of clean, offshore conditions with a tiny 2ft swell, but it's so small it's barely a ripple. The combined energy is a weak 52 (52). It's surfable, but you'd be scratching for anything decent.

Further out, the morning of Wednesday the 5th of August and Friday the 7th of August show clean, cross-offshore winds on tiny 1ft and 2ft swells. These are long-range whispers, and the energy is very low (60 and 73). Don't get your hopes up.

To sum it up: the whole period is a wasteland until the 27th. The only real shout is the glassy morning of Monday, July 27th with a 4ft, 10-second NW groundswell. That's your one and only window. Lock it in, because the rest of the run is flat and sad.

Rusty.

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