Ilbaritz - Edouard VII Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this 16-day window for Ilbaritz - Edouard VII is a tough one. We’re looking at a real flat spell with very little to get excited about. The water is sitting at 77°, which is a massive 8° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s properly unusual, so don’t bother with the thick wetsuit.

The first bit of any real hope doesn’t pop up until Monday, July 13th. The early morning session shows a 4ft swell from the WNW, but it’s a short-period 7 seconds, so it’s gonna be a bit lumpy. The combined energy is moderate at 134. The wind is glassy, 3 mph from the WNW, which is a nice touch for a reef break, but the conditions are described as “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” It’s a small window, and it’s short-lived. The afternoon goes to cross-shore and the surf drops to 3ft.

From there, it’s a long, dry run. Tuesday, July 14th through to Friday, July 24th is a real drought. The swell drops to tiny, junk levels – 2ft, 0.7ft, 1ft – and the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore. The combined energy barely hits double digits. It’s just not worth paddling out. You’ll be doing more sitting and waiting than surfing.

Then, we get a little flicker of life on Saturday, July 25th. The morning sees a 1ft NW swell with a 10-second period, clean offshore wind from the east at 6 mph. The energy is weak at 37, but the conditions are clean. This is a very small, long-period groundswell, so it’ll be sliding down the reef, but it’s for the patient.

The real standout, and the only one worth pointing to, is Sunday, July 26th. The morning shows a 3ft NW swell, but the period is 8 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 118 (moderate). The wind is dead calm, 0 mph from the north – glassy perfection. The forecast says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” but for a reef break in flat calm, that’s a rare treat. It’s the pick of the bunch, but it’s still a small wave.

The following Monday, July 27th and Tuesday, July 28th show a similar 4ft of swell, but the wind shifts to a cross-onshore, so it’ll get choppy. The energy is there (144 on Monday afternoon), but the quality won’t be.

Overall, the first week is a write-off. The second week has one promising morning on the 26th. If you’re desperate, the morning of July 26th is the one to aim for, but don’t expect a classic.

Rusty.

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