Capbreton - La Piste Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—Capbreton – La Piste is not looking like the place to be for the next 16 days. The forecast is a real bummer, with no standout sessions and hardly anything worth paddling out for.

Right off the bat, we’ve got a long stretch of small, weak swell. The first real possibility doesn’t even show up until the 15th of August, and even then it’s barely a whisper. The water is a toasty 76°F, which is *much warmer than usual* for this time of year, so at least you won’t need a thick suit, but that’s about the only good news.

From Friday the 7th right through to Thursday the 14th, it’s pretty much a write-off. You’re looking at tiny waves, mostly around 1 ft to 2 ft, with periods so short (5 to 10 seconds) they’ll be gutless. The combined energy is weak, and the wind is almost always cross-on or onshore, chopping up whatever little bump there is. There are a few glassy mornings, like the 7th and 9th, but with next to no swell, it’s just a flat lake.

Saturday the 15th of August morning is the first time we get a whisper of something. A 2 ft swell from the WNW with a 9-second period, and glassy conditions. The combined energy is still very low, and the guidance calls it “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions”. Honestly, it’s a beginner-level ankle-snapper at best.

The middle of the week on the 17th of August shows a little bump in size, with 4 ft from the NW, but the period is still short (7-8 seconds) and the wind is onshore or cross-on at 12 mph. It’s going to be messy and choppy. Not worth the drive.

The best of a bad bunch looks like Friday the 21st of August. We get a 3 ft swell from the WNW with a 9-second period, and finally some offshore wind (E at 3 mph) in the morning. The combined energy is moderate, and the wind state is clean. It’s the only real window of clean conditions in the whole outlook, but the swell is still small. It’s the only thing I’d even consider, and I’d be checking it with low expectations.

Then the 22nd of August sees a bigger pulse of 5 ft to 5 ft from the NW with a 10-second period, and the combined energy jumps up. But the wind is howling onshore at 15 to 19 mph. That’s a washing machine. For a beach break like La Piste, that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Overall, it’s a bleak 16 days, Capbreton. Save your energy and wait for a better forecast.

Rusty

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