Ritoque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s on the menu for Ritoque over the next couple of weeks.

We’ve got a solid run of swell, but it’s a mixed bag of winds and conditions. The standout window is definitely this first weekend, with some real quality on offer. The water temp is sitting at 57°F, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

Starting off on Tuesday, the 28th of July, we get a pulse of 8ft WSW swell with a 12-second period. The combined wave energy is strong at 1641, and the wind is dead calm, glassy. This is proper powerful groundswell for experienced surfers only at Ritoque. The wave height is pushing over 8ft, so this is expert territory. Tuesday afternoon the wind swings onshore from the WSW, making it a bit of a write-off.

Wednesday the 29th has a nice drop in size to 4ft, still from the WSW, period 12 seconds, and glassy again in the morning. The energy is moderate at 573, but with clean conditions this is a much more manageable size for the intermediate crew. The afternoon sees a light onshore breeze creep in, spoiling the glass.

Thursday the 30th is a no-go. Cross-shore winds pick up to 9 mph in the morning, then 16 mph in the afternoon, making a mess of the 4ft to 6ft swell. Not worth paddling out.

Friday the 31st has some hope with cross-offshore winds and a 5ft to 5ft swell. The morning has heavy rain, but the afternoon clears up with a light breeze for clean-ish waves. It’s marginal, but could be a sneaky session.

Now, here’s the real gold. Saturday the 1st of August is your best bet. We’ve got a 6ft swell from the SW, 12-second period, with glassy conditions all day. The wave energy is strong at 1124 in the morning and 1045 in the afternoon. This is clean, powerful, and consistent. It’s still a solid size, so it’s for the experienced crew, but the quality is excellent. Sunday the 2nd starts with a glassy 3ft swell, but it’s smaller and the wind turns cross-on in the afternoon, so ride the morning.

The middle of the week from Monday the 3rd to Thursday the 6th is mostly marginal. Winds are predominantly cross or cross-on, and the swell is generally small or choppy. There’s a pulse of very long-period swell on Wednesday the 5th (17 seconds) and Thursday the 6th (14 seconds), pushing 8ft, but the cross-on breeze keeps it from being clean. The energy is high, but the quality is lacking.

The following weekend, Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th, brings a massive pulse. Swell hits 12ft from the SW with a 14-second period on Friday, and 10ft on Saturday. The wave energy is monstrous—over 5000. The wind is cross-shore, but the size is simply too big for Ritoque. Only for the most experienced, and even then, it’s a sketchy call. The surf setup here looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those days.

Sunday the 9th through Tuesday the 11th sees the swell drop back to the 6ft to 8ft range, but persistent cross-on winds from the SSW and SW keep things choppy and marginal. There’s a lot of energy in the water, but the wind is fighting it.

Wednesday the 12th is a bit of a letdown as the swell fades to 6ft, and the wind is cross-shore, but the week is ending on a flat note.

So, to wrap it up: if you’re free, Saturday the 1st of August is the standout. Get out there early for the glass and the clean 6ft SW groundswell. The early part of the week, especially Wednesday the 29th, is also worth a look if you want something smaller. The rest is a battle with the wind or the size.

Rusty.

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