Ritoque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s take a look at what’s coming up for Ritoque. The water temp here is sitting at 57°, which is right about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The next week and a half is a bit of a mixed bag, with a few decent windows but a lot of marginal conditions in between. The first few days, from Wednesday afternoon through to the weekend, are mostly a write-off thanks to onshore winds, choppy conditions, and a lot of short-period, weak swell. The west-southwest swell is around 5 ft to 7 ft, but with periods of 8 to 14 seconds, the energy is moderate at best, ranging from 694 to 1576 on the combined energy scale. The winds are mostly cross-on or cross, and the wave quality is either poor or just marginal. Saturday afternoon does bring a clean cross-off wind, but the swell is only 5 ft with an 8-second period, so it’s not going to have much push.

The real standout window opens up on Monday the 24th of August. The morning brings glassy conditions with a 4 ft west-southwest swell and a 12-second period, giving it a bit more shape and energy (477). The afternoon stays glassy, still with a clean 3 ft swell. This is your best bet for a proper session in the first week – clean, manageable, and the swell direction is right in the sweet spot for Ritoque.

Tuesday the 25th also has a glassy morning, but the swell drops to just 2 ft, even though it’s a very long 15-second period groundswell. That’s going to be pretty gutless for a beach break, but if you’ve got a longboard, you might find something fun.

Then things get interesting toward the end of the month. The 26th and 27th of August see a solid pulse of west-southwest swell. The morning of the 26th is glassy with a 4 ft, 12-second swell, and the energy jumps to 680 – that’s a nice, clean, moderate session. By Thursday the 27th, the swell is ramping up. The morning has a 5 ft, 19-second swell, with 2004 energy, but the wind is onshore, so it’s messy. The afternoon of the 27th is where it gets big – 10 ft, 18-second swell, and a massive 5810 energy. That’s a proper groundswell, but it’s also too big for this break, and really only for experts. The 28th of August is similar: 12 ft, 15-second swell, and 5859 energy. The wind is light cross-on, so it’s not clean, but the size and power are there. The 29th of August calms down a bit to 8 ft, with 2008 energy, but still a light cross-on breeze.

After that, from the 30th through to the 3rd of September, it’s back to smaller, weaker, wind-affected surf. The swell drops to 5 ft and below, periods are short, and the winds are mostly cross-shore or cross-on, so it’s not worth chasing.

The standout session is the morning of Wednesday the 26th of August. The water is glassy, the swell is a clean 4 ft from the west-southwest with a 12-second period, and the energy is moderate (680). It’s a perfect window for an intermediate surfer to get some clean, well-shaped waves without the crowds being too heavy, since Ritoque only gets crowded sometimes. The swell direction is exactly what this break needs, and the conditions are prime.

If you’re an expert, the afternoon of Thursday the 27th of August is the big one – 10 ft, 18-second groundswell, massive energy (5810), but it’s going to be a beast. Keep an eye on the tide, and be ready for some serious power.

Rusty.

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