Ilbaritz - Edouard VII Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you about the surf at Ilbaritz - Edouard VII. This is a reef break, intermediate level, and it’s exposed to the swell. The next couple of weeks are a real mixed bag, with a whole lot of patience needed before things get interesting. There’s a long gap of poor conditions right at the start.

Right now, through the end of July, the surf is honestly pretty grim. Sunday the 19th has tiny, messy waves with onshore wind, and Monday through Tuesday the 20th and 21st aren’t much better – small, onshore, weak energy. Wednesday the 22nd morning offers a tiny glimmer with clean conditions and a light cross-offshore breeze, but the swell is just 3 ft from the NNW with a short period of 6 seconds and weak energy (63). It’s surfable but very ordinary. After that, it’s mostly poor surf with onshore winds and small, weak waves all the way through Saturday the 25th. We’re looking at a pretty big dry spell.

The first real sign of life comes on Monday the 27th of July. The morning goes glassy calm with a 2 ft NW swell and a period of 11 seconds – that’s proper groundswell energy. The combined energy is moderate (101). It’s small, but glassy conditions on a reef break with that longer period could offer a clean, fun little wave for a patient surfer.

But the standout window is the end of the month and the start of August. Wednesday the 29th of July morning is where it starts to fire. We’ve got a clean 4 ft swell from the NW, period of 10 seconds, and glassy conditions with a slight air. The combined energy is a solid 384 – moderate but building. The surf should be good. Thursday the 30th of July morning is just as good, with the same 4 ft NW swell, glassy, and energy at 348. Then Sunday the 2nd of August morning brings another great session: 5 ft NW swell, glassy, and energy at 433. This is the best on offer – a solid, clean, intermediate-level reef break. Just be aware that with these conditions, it’s likely to get crowded.

The following Monday, the 3rd of August morning, also looks promising with a 4 ft NW swell, glassy, and good energy (241). The water temperature is about average for the time of year, so nothing unusual there.

The swell does get bigger on Saturday the 1st of August, hitting 5 ft from the NW with strong energy (437), but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, making it more of a challenge than a pleasure. For the true standout, stick with the glassy mornings of the 29th, 30th of July, and the 2nd of August.

Stay patient, it’ll be worth it.
Rusty.

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