Ritoque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's happening at Ritoque.

Looking at this 16-day stretch, it's a challenging forecast. Plenty of days have waves, but the quality just isn't there consistently. There's a lot of average days with choppy, onshore winds messing up the surface. This spot isn't coming online in a reliable way, so you've got to be patient and pick your window.

The first few days are a struggle. Friday, August 7th is a total loss with messy cross-onshore wind and poor surf. We do see a big pulse of swell on Saturday, August 8th, with solid 10ft to 12ft of SW groundswell (14-second period) and massive wave energy readings (4078 and 4146). The report says it's predicted to be too big for this break though, so that's one for the experts only, if anyone. It's definitely not a day for most people.

The pattern stays messy into the second week. There's a small window on Tuesday afternoon, August 11th, where we get a glassy 4ft SW swell (11 seconds), but the energy is only moderate. It's clean, but small.

The real standout of the whole forecast is Thursday, August 13th. Both the morning and afternoon are glassy with a clean 4ft swell from the WSW, with a long period of 15-16 seconds. That's true groundswell, which will give the waves great shape and longer lulls between sets. Combined wave energy is in the moderate range, so it won't be massive, but it will be perfect.

After that, there's another gap of onshore wind until Monday afternoon, August 17th. That gives us a clean 6ft WSW swell with a light cross-offshore wind from the SSE. The report calls it excellent for experienced surfers, and the energy is moderate at 1265. That's your best bet in the second week.

So it's a waiting game. The potential is there, but the wind and swell size keep it from being great. Keep your eyes on Thursday, August 13th – that's the one to save for.

Rusty.

Read more