Ilbaritz - Edouard VII Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking at Ilbaritz - Edouard VII, a reef break on the exposed west coast.

The water temp is sitting at 77°, which is a whopping 5° warmer than average for this time of year – that’s very unusual, mate, and with that warmth, it’s feeling more like a bath than a typical late-winter dip.

Right now, the first week is a bit of a mixed bag, with a few windows of clean surf but plenty of wind-ruined sessions in between. The standout for the whole outlook is Saturday morning the 22nd of August. That morning we’ve got a clean 4ft NW swell with a solid 9-second period, and the wind is light offshore out of the east at 6 mph. It’s not a huge swell, but with offshore wind and a combined wave energy reading of 241 (moderate energy), it’s going to be clean and fun – a proper surfer’s morning on this reef. Crowds are often an issue here, so get in early. Later that afternoon the wind swings cross-offshore and picks up, so don’t expect it to hold.

There’s a bit of a drought after that. Sunday morning the 23rd is surfable but ordinary, and from Monday the 24th through to Thursday the 27th, the wind’s mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the surf quality is poor. You’d be wasting your time. The swell does get chunky – 8ft on Thursday morning the 27th – but with onshore winds at 12 mph, it’s a washing machine.

Then we get the real stand out: Friday morning the 28th of August. Offshore wind from the east-southeast at 6 mph, a solid 6ft NW swell with a period of 10 seconds, and a combined wave energy of 707 (strong wave energy). This is the pick of the whole outlook. Clean, powerful groundswell lines wrapping into the reef – and a good crowd baseline, so expect company. This is a wave for intermediate to advanced surfers. It’s not beginner-friendly at that size.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th mornings are glassy but small, with 3ft of swell – only worth it if you’re desperate for a clean, small-wave session on a longboard.

Looking into the second week, it gets promising but less certain. Monday the 31st of August morning is big – 10ft NW swell at 10 seconds, but it’s onshore and messy. That same afternoon, the swell holds at 10ft and the period stretches to 11 seconds, but again onshore, so experts only if any. The real long-range hopeful is Wednesday morning the 2nd of September: glassy conditions, 7ft NW swell at 9 seconds, and a combined energy of 720 (strong) – clean, solid, and well worth marking on the calendar. And then Thursday the 3rd of September glassy again, but with only 4ft of swell.

So, the two true standouts are Saturday morning the 22nd for a clean, smaller session, and definitely Friday morning the 28th of August for the best combo of size, power, and offshore wind. Everything else is either blown out or too small. Expect crowds on the good days.

Rusty.

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