Ritoque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

We’ve got a bit of a mixed bag lining up at Ritoque over the next couple of weeks. The early days are pretty average, but there’s a definite pulse of energy building for the second week that’s worth keeping an eye on.

Right now, heading into Tuesday the 15th, it’s looking glassy with light offshore winds. We’ve got a 4ft WSW swell at 13 seconds, and the water’s sitting at 58° – a touch warmer than usual for this time of year. It’s a clean start, but the energy is only moderate (559). The morning is the call, as the afternoon fades and turns a bit cross-onshore.

From Wednesday the 16th through to the weekend, it’s pretty ordinary. Swell drops back to under 3ft, periods hover around 11-12 seconds, and mostly we’re looking at light cross-onshore breezes and choppy conditions. There’s a bit of clean glass on Thursday the 17th morning with a 4ft SW swell, but the period is way short – only 7 seconds – so it’ll be weak and crumbly. Not much to get excited about.

The next real window opens up on Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd. The swell starts to build a touch, pushing to 5-6ft by Monday afternoon, but the wind gets messy and it’s marginal at best. Tuesday the 22nd morning has a decent 5ft WSW swell at 10 seconds and glassy conditions again – that’s your best bet for a clean, if not huge, session. Still, the energy stays moderate (461).

Now, here’s where things get proper interesting. The standout run is from Wednesday the 24th through Friday the 26th. Thursday the 24th morning brings a clean 5ft WSW swell at 11 seconds, with the energy jumping up to 529 and light offshore winds. Friday the 25th is the pick of the bunch – solid 6ft W swell, 11-second period, and the combined energy goes strong at 1021-1136. Glassy and clean in the morning, with a light cross-offshore in the afternoon. This is proper surf, the kind that’ll have you grinning – but at 6ft, it’s starting to push it for beginners, and by Saturday the 26th it’s well overhead at 8ft (2548 energy) and too much for anyone but experts.

That Saturday, the 26th, is big but messy – cross-onshore winds and lumpy. And the following days, the 28th and 29th, see the swell stay up around 4-7ft but with strong winds, especially Tuesday the 29th afternoon when it’s blowing 35 km/h and chopped right up. That Tuesday morning, the 29th, has 7ft at 11 seconds with moderate cross-shore wind – it’s a heavy, lumpy one. Not for the faint-hearted.

After that, the 30th sees a drop back to 4ft but with a fresh 35 km/h cross-shore breeze, so it’s not doing us any favours.

Overall, for this Ritoque stretch, Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th mornings are your clear standouts – clean, punchy, and the swell direction matches what the break wants. Crowds can be a bit of a thing here sometimes, so get in early.

Stay frothy,
Rusty

Read more