Ilbaritz - Edouard VII Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again. Let me break down what’s happening at Ilbaritz – Edouard VII in feet and miles per hour. It's a pretty bleak outlook, to be honest. This is a reef break that's pretty consistent in offering waves, but with the wind and swell direction fighting each other, most days are a complete write-off. The one bright spot is going to be that Tuesday morning, July 28th, and maybe a couple of early mornings in August, but keep your expectations low.

Starting today, Wednesday the 22nd, it’s all bad. We’ve got tiny, weak swell from the North, a period of only 6 seconds, and a cross-onshore wind of 9 mph from the NW. The water is an unusually warm 77°F, which is about 7°F above normal, but that’s all you’ve got going for you. The combined wave energy is weak (33). Don’t bother.

Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th are the same story – tiny swell, poor direction, bad wind. Energy stays under 50.

Saturday the 25th is a cruel tease. Swell jumps up to 6 feet in the morning and 8 feet in the afternoon from the WNW, with the energy climbing into moderate range (265 and 588). But it’s all coming with a fresh onshore breeze of 19 mph. That’s just a messy, blown-out, choppy mess. The period is still a short 7 seconds, so no real shape. This is a kiter’s dream, not a surfer’s.

Sunday the 26th is still choppy and cross-onshore with 5ft to 4ft swell. Not worth it.

Finally, a glimmer. Monday morning, July 27th. The swell is 5ft, but the period stretches out to 10 seconds – that’s proper groundswell. The wind is a light cross-shore from the NNW at 6 mph, and the combined energy is strong at 498. It’s rated as *marginal*, but it’s the first time you might find a workable bank. The direction isn’t perfect, but it’s something.

But the real standout is Tuesday morning, July 28th. This is your session. It’s glassy – a light 3 mph wind from the ENE. The swell is 4ft from the NW with that 10-second period, and the energy is moderate (299). It’s clean. The only clean window in the whole forecast. For a reef at this size, it’ll be fine for an intermediate. Just be aware that with that longer period, the reef might make the wave a bit more critical than the height suggests. Get out early, because the afternoon turns cross-shore and gets ordinary.

From Wednesday the 29th onward, it’s a slow fade. Swell drops to 3ft and under, wind goes onshore again, energy weakens. By the 30th and 31st, it’s small and choppy.

Then another small window: Sunday morning, August 2nd. Glassy again, wind from the WSW at 3 mph. Swell is just 3ft from the WNW at 10 seconds. It’s small, clean, and *surfable but very ordinary*. Combined energy is 148. Good for a longboard or a beginner. Same for Monday, August 3rd – glassy, tiny. And Tuesday, August 4th, we get an actual offshore wind from the East at 6 mph, cleaning up a 4ft NW swell. That’s a decent little session.

After that, it’s back to junk to end the forecast – tiny waves, onshore wind, weak energy.

So, to put it simply: Tuesday morning, July 28th is your best bet – glassy, clean. August 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are your backup mornings for a small, clean paddle. Everything else is a hard pass. There’s a long dead stretch from the 29th through the 1st, and then again after the 4th.

Keep the board waxed for that Tuesday dawn patrol.

Rusty.

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