Ritoque Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Ritoque's got cooking for us over the next couple of weeks.

The opening days are a bit of a slow burn, with the real action kicking off later. Water temp is around 57°F, which is pretty standard for this time of year, nothing to shock the system.

Thursday the 30th is a bit of a write-off. Morning shows a weak 3ft cross-shore windswell with moderate energy (257) and nowhere near clean. The afternoon cleans up with a clean 4ft W swell and a cross-offshore breeze, but the scores still aren't calling it a standout—just a session to get wet.

Friday the 31st is a weird one. A massive dump of heavy rain and a strong 21 mph cross-onshore wind makes for a lumpy, ugly morning with 7ft of messy swell. Don't bother. The afternoon, however, is where it flips. That wind swings to a light offshore from the east at only 3 mph, and the swell drops to a cleaner 6ft from the northwest. It's the first real sign of life.

Saturday the 1st of August is the first true standout. Morning is glassy as a mirror with a light 4ft SW groundswell (13-second period) and moderate energy (843). But the afternoon is the real deal: 7ft of WSW groundswell with a very strong energy reading (1665), and it's glassy. That's a powerful, clean swell. For experienced surfers only at that size, but the quality is undeniable.

Sunday the 2nd keeps the run going. Another glassy morning, 7ft from the WSW (1200 energy). If you're an experienced surfer, you do not want to miss Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning. The afternoon Sunday gets a bit of a cross-onshore breeze, so it's still surfable but not as pristine.

Monday the 3rd also offers a glassy 7ft morning session; more excellent conditions for the confident crew. The energy is strong (1402). These few days are the heart of the window.

After that, the wind starts to play games, and the quality drops into "marginal" territory from Tuesday the 4th through Wednesday the 6th. There's still decent swell in the water (5ft to 7ft), but cross-onshore breezes and chop spoil the party. The big exception is Thursday the 6th morning: glassy again, with a 6ft SW groundswell (14-second period) and solid energy (1199). That’s another clean session in the middle of the chop.

Friday the 7th sees the swell ease back to 4ft, and conditions are clean again with glassy winds in the morning. Fun for a smaller board, but nothing to write home about. The rest of the second week into the 14th is a mix of clean but small (3ft to 4ft) glassy windows and increasingly cross-choppy afternoons. The last clear standout is Thursday the 13th afternoon: glassy, with a 4ft SW groundswell carrying a very long 16-second period (energy 943). Sweet, lined-up waves for a point or reef.

So to sum it up: this isn't a two-week constant goldmine. There's a solid 4-5 day gap of poor to marginal quality from mid-week the second week. The true standouts are Saturday afternoon the 1st and Sunday morning the 2nd of August. That's your window for the best, most powerful, glassy swell of the period.

Rusty, signing off.

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