Mutriku Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's on offer for the local area.

Right off the bat, I’ve gotta be straight with you. The next week and a half is looking pretty grim. We’re staring down the barrel of a long, flat spell. From Friday the 31st of July all the way through to Saturday the 8th of August, the breaks are pretty much asleep. The swell is tiny, and the energy is weak. You’ll see combined swell energy values in the teens, twenties, and thirties, which is barely a ripple. The water is a warm 75°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so it feels like a bath, but there’s just no push to it. A few mornings might look glassy, but with almost no swell, it’s not worth paddling out for.

Now, hang on, because things finally start looking interesting on Sunday the 9th of August. That morning, we get a pulse of new energy. The combined swell energy jumps to 450 (moderate wave energy), with a 5 ft swell from the WNW at a 9-second period. That’s a solid, clean groundswell starting to fill in. The wind is dead glassy, so it’s going to be clean, but at 5 ft, it’s no longer a beginner wave. The only spot in the game is Mutriku, a sheltered reef break that likes an incoming NW swell. The optimum direction is NW, and this is coming from the WNW, so it’s a good match. Keep in mind that Mutriku is an inconsistent spot, and it can get crowded sometimes, but on a Sunday morning with a fresh swell, it might be worth the paddle.

But the real standout, the one you want to circle on your calendar, is Monday the 10th of August. The morning session is the pick of the whole 16 days. We’ve got a 7 ft WNW swell, with a combined energy of 1019 (strong wave energy). That’s a lot of power. The period is 8 seconds, so it’s a shorter-period swell, which will actually punch up nicely on the reef. The wind is glassy, absolutely perfect. At 7 ft, this is getting into expert territory, definitely not for beginners. It’s going to be a powerful, challenging wave, but if you’ve got the skills, the reward will be there. The afternoon gets onshore and messy, so the morning window is everything.

After that burst, the energy drops off fast. By Tuesday the 11th, the swell is smaller and the wind goes cross-shore, making it messy. By Wednesday the 12th, we’re back to tiny, weak surf for the rest of the forecast. The second week is a real letdown after that Monday morning.

So, bottom line: the waiting game is on. The first big chance is Sunday the 9th of August, but the true standout is Monday the 10th of August at Mutriku. Get there early, enjoy the clean glass, and charge those 7 ft waves. The rest of the window is a skunk.

Rusty.

Read more