Ritoque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

We’ve got a window opening up at Ritoque. The water is sitting at 58°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year – about 2° above average, so nothing crazy but a nice little bonus.

Sunday morning the 30th is a bit of a write-off. We’ve got a 5ft swell from the WSW with an 11-second period, but it’s a cross-shore breeze and the wave comment says it’s marginal. The combined energy is moderate (683). Not worth getting wet for. The afternoon is more of the same with onshore wind.

Now, Monday morning the 31st is where it gets interesting. The wind drops to nothing – glassy conditions – and we’ve got a clean 4ft swell from the WSW with a 12-second period. Combined energy is moderate (556). The forecast says “expect very good surf conditions”. This is the standout of the whole outlook. If you’ve got a window, that’s your session.

Monday afternoon the wind shifts cross-on, and the quality drops. Tuesday through to the end of the first week is a mix of poor to marginal surf. The wind is mostly cross-on or onshore, and the swell hangs around 3ft to 5ft but the quality is just not there. A few days have some longer period energy from the SW (15-18 seconds), but the cross-on wind ruins it. For example, Thursday the 3rd has 4ft swell from the WSW with 15-second period and moderate energy (973), but it’s a moderate cross-onshore breeze and the surf is poor.

There’s a decent gap of poor conditions from Tuesday the 1st through to Friday the 4th, with only a few marginal windows. Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th look a bit better, with some longer period SW swell (16-20 seconds) and light onshore winds. The combined energy is moderate to strong (1130-1191), but they’re still marginal sessions. The swell is 3ft to 5ft, not huge, but the long period means it’s more of a groundswell setup. At a beach break, that long period can make it a bit too straight, but Ritoque is a beach and reef mix, so it might hold.

Monday the 7th morning has a 5ft swell from the SW with 13-second period and strong energy (1229), but it’s onshore. The afternoon is a different story: glassy, 5ft from the SW with 14-second period, and “expect very good surf conditions”. That’s your second standout. Tuesday the 8th onwards the swell fades and the wind stays cross-on, so the quality drops away.

Moving into the second week, the surf is pretty small and weak. From Wednesday the 9th to Friday the 11th, we’re looking at 3ft to 3ft swells from the SW or WSW, with light cross-on winds. Combined energy is weak (218-464). Friday afternoon the 11th has a glassy moment with 3ft from the WSW and 12-second period, and “expect good surf conditions” – but it’s small. Saturday the 12th is poor and small. Sunday the 13th sees a bump in swell to 6ft to 6ft from the WSW with 13-second period and moderate to strong energy (992-1020), but the wind is cross-on and moderate to fresh, so the surf is poor. Monday the 14th is marginal with 5ft from the WSW and an 11-second period.

So, the real standouts are Monday morning the 31st and Monday afternoon the 7th. Those are your best bets. The rest is a grind, with lots of cross-on wind and marginal to poor conditions. This stretch is more for the dedicated than the casual.

Rusty.

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