Anglet - La Petite Madrague Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the next couple of weeks for our corner of the coast. Honestly, it’s a bit of a slow burn. We’ve got a real mixed bag of small, weak swells and tricky winds for most of the first week and a half. The water is sitting at a warm 76°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – feels like a bath out there.

We start off with a few days of nothing to write home about. Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th have tiny, weak swell around 2 ft from the WNW, but the wind is messy and the energy is weak (47). It’s just poor surf, so don’t bother.

Thursday the 6th morning shows a little more life. Swell bumps up to 3 ft from the NW, with a clean, cross-off wind from the NE. The combined energy is moderate (123), and while it’s nothing crazy, it’s surfable. That’s the best we’ve got for the first few days. Friday the 7th morning is glassy, but the swell is already dropping back to 3 ft, and the energy is fading (65).

Then we hit a proper dead zone. From Saturday the 8th right through to Monday the 11th, it’s a grind of small, weak waves and onshore or cross-onshore winds. Nothing is breaking well. This is a stretch of about four days where you’d be better off doing something else.

Tuesday the 11th morning finally gives us a window. The swell is still small at 3 ft from the NW, but the wind is glassy offshore from the ENE. The energy is moderate (162). It’s a clean, small-wave day for the logs and fun shapes. The crowd factor is ‘sometimes’ at Petite Madrague, so you might have a few others out, but nothing too hectic.

After that, we slide back into a long, frustrating lull. From the 12th through the 17th, the swell is tiny, mostly under 2 ft, and the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore. It’s a real seven-day stretch of nothing worth paddling out for.

Now, here’s the tease. On the 18th, the swell starts to build, but it’s accompanied by strong onshore wind. The waves are 6 ft from the NW, but the energy is strong (816) and the wind is a fresh 19 mph from the W. It’s a mess for surfing, but for the kite crew, that’s a different story – that setup is going to be a lot more interesting for them.

The big one lands on Wednesday the 19th. A huge 12 ft swell from the NW rolls in, with a period of 10 seconds and massive energy (2749). The morning is glassy with a light NE wind. But here’s the reality check: that’s way too big for this break. It’s an expert-only situation, and even then, the guidance is clear that the swell is predicted to be too big for Petite Madrague. It’s a monster, but it’s not our monster.

So, what’s the standout? Honestly, the only real window for a decent, clean surf is Tuesday the 11th morning. It’s small, but it’s clean, and the water is warm. That’s your best bet. The rest of the run is either flat, blown out, or too big to handle.

Rusty.

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