Tivives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right from the start, I gotta tell you, the surf around here is going to be a bit of a grind. It’s not going to be flat, but it’s going to take some patience. Tivives (Puntarenas) is the only spot on the menu, and it’s looking inconsistent, which is a bummer. The water’s about 86°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – you’ll feel that.

The first few days are all about small, weak surf. Friday the 31st kicks off with storms and a light cross-onshore breeze – messy, don’t get too excited. The swell is a weak 2 ft from the SSW with a 13-second period, and the combined energy is only 169. It’s just not doing anything. Saturday morning looks cleaner with a light offshore but the swell is still tiny at 2 ft. The afternoons are getting wrecked by the sea breeze and storm risk, so the mornings are your only window, but even then, it’s pretty ordinary.

We muddle through the start of next week in a similar fashion. Sunday and Monday mornings have some glassy moments, but the swell drops to a pathetic 1 ft to 2 ft. It’s ankle-biters. The pattern keeps repeating: clean morning, stormy afternoon. It feels like a long stretch of nothing, really.

But hold on. Around Tuesday the 5th and Wednesday the 6th, the energy starts to change. It’s still small, but those long-period pulses are starting to show up in the forecast. Then, things start to get properly interesting. On Thursday morning the 7th, a new SSW groundswell fills in with a 17-second period, and while the height is still modest, the energy jumps to 300. This is the first time the ocean actually feels alive.

The real standout, though, is the Saturday the 9th and the following Friday the 15th. Saturday the 9th has glassy conditions in the morning, a 2 ft SSW swell with a long 16-second period, and a solid energy reading of 313. That’s the kind of clean, lined-up surf that Tivives can actually turn on. The Friday the 15th morning is similar – glassy, a 2 ft SSW swell with a 17-second period, and energy at 339. These are the mornings worth setting the alarm for. The combination of clean, offshore air with a proper groundswell makes for the best waves of the window. The long period should help it line up over the reef, which is a good thing here.

Keep an eye on the long period stuff, though. Swells over 15 seconds are powerful, but at a beach break they can be a bit too straight. This looks like it’s heading for the reef, so it should be okay. Just remember, these are still small waves, but they’ll be clean and make you feel like you’re in the right place rather than just paddling around. The rest of the time is a mix of small, cross-on slop and stormy afternoons. It’s a lot of waiting for a couple of good sessions.

That’s the story. It’s not a classic run, but there are a couple of moments that will make it worthwhile for those who are patient.

Rusty

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