Ritoque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. The long-range picture for Ritoque has a bit of a rough start, but there’s some serious potential hiding in the back half if you’re patient.

Right off the bat, Thursday the 27th is looking way out of control. There’s a big, powerful WSW swell pushing 12ft with a 14-second period, and the combined energy is enormous at 5204. That’s way too much juice for this spot. It’s a washing machine, not a wave. You’d need a death wish and a jet ski to get into that. The water is sitting at 57°F, which is pretty normal for this time of year.

The energy backs down a bit on Friday the 28th, but the 8ft swell is still pushing hard. The cross-onshore wind isn’t helping either, so it’s still a pass.

We’ve got a few days of small, junky surf from the 29th through the 2nd. The swell drops below 7ft, and the wind is all over the place. There’s a moment early Sunday the 30th when the wind goes glassy and the swell is a clean 5ft from the WSW. That’s the one bright spot in this whole first week. The energy has dropped to 683, so it’s not punchy, but it’s clean and contestable.

From there, it gets messy with moderate cross-shore breezes and smaller swell. This run of marginal surf lasts until about the 4th of September. The swell starts to build again that Friday, with 6ft on tap, but the conditions are still a bit average.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The weekend of the 5th and 6th sees a solid pulse of WSW swell, hitting 7ft on the 5th. The energy is back up over 1200, which is a proper sign of life. But the winds are cross-onshore and get fresh on the 6th, so it’s not clean. Then, we get a bigger, longer-period swell arriving Monday the 7th. We’re looking at 6ft in the morning, bumping up to 7ft by the afternoon, with a 16-17 second period. The energy is strong, over 2200. This is a proper groundswell. The problem is the wind is still cross-onshore and moderate to fresh, so it’s going to be lumpy and blown out. The size is getting up there, too, so this is expert territory.

The conditions finally start to settle down on Tuesday the 8th. The swell is still a solid 6ft, with a 15-second period, and the wind drops to a light cross-onshore. This is a much more promising window. The energy is still strong at 1784. This is the standout of the whole run.

The swell fades after that. By the 10th and 11th, it’s back down to around 3ft, and we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel again. There’s a pulse of long-period energy on the 11th with a 15-second period, but the swell height is just too small to get excited about.

So, the call is this: the first week is a write-off, aside from that glassy window on the morning of the 30th. Your best bet is the 8th of September. It’s got the size, the period, and the lighter wind. It’s not perfect, but it’s the most rideable day in this forecast. The 7th is for the brave only, with that bigger, longer-period swell but rough conditions. Keep an eye on that Tuesday – that’s the one.

Rusty.

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