Los Patos de Barahona • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (December - February)

This southeast-facing beach lives and dies by the Caribbean trade-wind machine. The annual statistics show that more than 80 percent of the year's swell arrives from the E/ESE quadrant with an average period stuck in the 6-7s range, meaning most surf is locally generated windswell rather than true groundswell. The best window is still December through February, when average heights climb to 3-3.6ft (1-1.1m), periods hold near 6.8s, and the North Atlantic storm track becomes active enough to occasionally throw more westerly energy into the region. You are still chasing rare W/NW offshore wind windows -- only 3-5 percent of the time -- but when a negative NAO pattern pushes fronts farther south, Los Patos can turn punchy and rippable.

Fair Surf Season (March - May & September - November)

The transitional months are a mixed bag. March through May sees the trades continuing but the swell slowly fading, with average heights dropping to around 3ft (0.9m) and the SE component gaining ground. September through November actually has the highest percentage of ideal offshore wind at 5-6 percent, but the wave heights shrink to 2.6-2.9ft (0.8-0.9m) and periods shorten toward 6-6.3s. Tropical cyclones can inject unusual S/SW or southerly energy into the mix, but it is usually accompanied by storm winds and heavy rain. These months reward the flexible surfer who can pick off the clean early-morning windows.

Low Surf Season (June - August)

Summer is the grind. The trade winds are at their strongest and most unidirectional, with ENE winds blowing between 50 and 58 percent of the time. Ideal offshore wind plummets to just 1-2 percent, and the swell stays locked in the ESE/SE quadrant. The ocean is full of 3ft (1m) of short-period, side-shore windswell that rarely lines up cleanly. Unless a hurricane tracks perfectly or a tropical wave lines things up, this is the season for low expectations at Los Patos de Barahona.