Ritoque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Right off the bat, the first few days look pretty average. Sunday morning (August 9th) is a write-off for a good session. We’ve got a 8ft swell from the SW, but the wind is a cross 9 mph and the wave energy is a thumping 3733 – that’s a lot of power – but it’s described as marginal. The afternoon gets worse with a 19 mph cross-onshore wind turning it into a lumpy mess. Monday (August 10th) and Tuesday (August 11th) are similar stories: fair-sized swell but constantly cross or cross-onshore winds just messing up the surface. The energy drops from 1952 down to 432, so it’s not pumping, just messy.

Now, Wednesday morning (August 12th) is a tease. The swell drops to 2ft but the wind goes glassy, dead calm. The energy is a weak 361, so it’s a total flat spell but at least it’s clean. Thursday (August 13th) and Friday (August 14th) keep the sizes small, with a couple of glassy windows but not much wave to work with.

Here’s the first real standout. Saturday morning, August 15th. The swell jumps back up to 7ft from the W, with a period of 12 seconds – that’s decent groundswell. The wind is glassy, completely offshore. The combined energy is 1464, which is a solid moderate pulse. This is going to be clean and powerful, but at 7ft, it’s heading into expert territory. For the experienced crew, this is the best session of the whole forecast. The morning is the window. The afternoon gets a cross-onshore breeze that’ll chop it up.

Sunday (August 16th) and Monday (August 17th) drop back into the marginal zone. The swell stays around 7ft, but the wind is cross or cross-onshore, so the quality is just not there.

The second standout is Tuesday morning, August 18th. Another 5ft swell from the SW, period of 15 seconds – that’s proper long-period groundswell – and the wind is glassy. The energy is 1052, a solid moderate pulse. With that long period, Ritoque, being an exposed beach break, might see the waves standing up a bit too straight, but the glassy conditions will make it look way better than the preceding days. This one is for the experienced surfers again.

The following days, from August 19th through to the 24th, are a mixed bag of smaller swells (4ft to 5ft) with mostly cross-onshore winds. There are a few clean windows, like Wednesday morning (August 19th) with glassy conditions and a 5ft swell, but the energy is around 900-1000, so it’s not a barnstormer. The best of the last week is probably Sunday morning, August 23rd, with a 4ft swell from the SSW, a 16-second period, and glassy wind. That’s a clean, long-period groundswell but on the smaller side.

The water temp is about what you’d expect for this time of year, no major anomaly.

Overall, the standout is Saturday morning, August 15th, for the biggest, cleanest swell. Tuesday morning, August 18th, is a close second for quality. Don’t hold your breath for the other days.

Rusty.

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