Ilbaritz - Edouard VII Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. We’ve got a single spot on the radar for this stretch, and it’s a bit of a frustrating story to tell. The overall pattern is one of small, weak swell lines being constantly messed up by the wind. For the first two weeks, we’re stuck in a rut of poor surf conditions, with only a couple of brief flashes of something surfable. The real standout comes much later, on the 21st of August, and it’s a long way off.

We’re looking at Ilbaritz - Edouard VII. This is a reef break, so it can handle the right swell, but the problem is the wind. For the first ten days, the onshore and cross-onshore winds are a killer. The water is a very warm 76°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only thing going for it.

Friday morning the 7th offers the first real look. We’ve got tiny 2ft swell from the NW with a short 7-second period. The combined energy is weak at 58, and it’s only just surfable. The key positive is the glassy conditions from a light 3 mph WNW wind. It’s not going to be epic, but it’s the only clean window we get for a while. The winds turn cross-onshore by the afternoon and ruin it.

The next two weeks are a grind. The swell stays small, under 3ft, and the period is short. The wind is consistently onshore or cross-onshore from the west or northwest, making for choppy, poor surf. There’s a glassy morning on Tuesday the 11th with 2ft swell, but the energy is gone (62). It’s a skunk session, but you could get a couple of knee-high rolls.

The first real sign of life comes on the 14th of August. The swell bumps up to 3ft from the WNW, and the period stretches to 10-11 seconds, giving it moderate energy (144). The wind is still a light cross-onshore, so it’s not clean, but you can see the energy building. Saturday morning the 15th is glassy again, but it’s the same weak 2ft swell.

The standout window is Friday the 21st of August. This is the one to circle on the calendar. The forecast shows a 3ft swell from the NW, with a 9-second period, and the combined energy kicks up to 234. But the real story is the wind: the morning is showing a clean 6 mph offshore breeze from the east. This is the only time in the entire 16-day window we get offshore wind, and it’s going to make this reef break fire. The waves will be clean, well-shaped, and with that energy, it’ll be a proper session. It’s a long way off, so keep a close eye on it.

The build-up to that is okay. The 12th has a 4ft swell from the NW, but the wind is messy. Unfortunately, the 22nd of August sees a solid 5ft to 5ft NW swell (energy over 500), but it’s accompanied by a strong 16-19 mph onshore wind. That’s a blown-out, rough mess, and honestly, for a reef break, that setup is more interesting for the kite surfers than paddle surfers.

So, to sum it up: the first two weeks are mostly a write-off with tiny, weak surf and bad wind. The only real hope is the 21st of August. If you can wait, that Friday morning at Ilbaritz - Edouard VII looks like the best bet for a clean, fun session.

Rusty.

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