Papenoo Rivermouth (L'Embouchure) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. This is a look at the next 16 days for Papenoo Rivermouth (L'Embouchure) on the North Shore of Tahiti. It’s a river mouth setup, so it can get fun when everything lines up. But I gotta be honest with you, the outlook is a bit of a tough one for the near future.

Right now, the water temp is sitting at 79°, which is pretty much bang on average for the time of year, so no need to worry about a weirdly warm or cold ocean.

We’re starting off pretty flat and messy. Wednesday the 5th of August is a no-go, with weak 3ft swell from the East at a short 8 seconds and a cross-onshore breeze. The wave energy is feeble (144), and it’s just choppy. Thursday the 6th ain’t much better, but you’ll get a tiny window on Thursday afternoon. The wind drops to glassy, and you’ll see 3ft of swell. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. That’s really the only flicker of life for the first week.

We’ve then got a massive gap. From Friday the 7th all the way through to Monday the 10th of August, it’s a mix of poor surf and strong winds. The wind is howling out of the SE at 25 mph, making things clean but blown out. The swell is small or short-period, and the energy is weak. Then from Tuesday the 11th into Wednesday the 12th, the swell picks up but the quality doesn’t. You’ll see 6ft to 7ft of East swell, but the wind is still strong, and the conditions are just lumpy or clean but messy. The energy jumps up to moderate (328-618), but it’s not worth the paddle.

The one standout, and it’s a long-range promise, is on Sunday the 17th of August. The forecast shows a 7ft East swell, with a clean cross-offshore wind from the SE. The energy is strong (563). This is the only time in the whole window where the conditions look like they might just come together for a proper session. It’s a week and a half away, so don’t book the day off yet, but it’s the one to watch. For the rest of the second week, it’s a lot of 3ft to 5ft East swell with clean winds but still just poor surf conditions. The wave energy is weak to moderate (143-321).

Honestly, mates, this is a tough run. For a river mouth that needs a specific swell direction and clean wind, the first 12 days are a write-off. The 17th of August is your only real shot, and it’s a long way off. Keep your eye on the forecasts, because something could change, but for now, I’d be finding something else to do.

Rusty.

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