Alfagar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with you – we’re looking at a pretty tough stretch on the Algarve coast. The swell window is playing hard to get, and for most of this 16-day run, the ocean is just not cooperating. We've got some serious patience required.

The only real standout in the whole window is a very brief and promising window around Saturday morning, August 22nd. Other than that, it’s a lot of flat spells and messy conditions. For the first ten days of the forecast, from now until the 22nd, the energy is almost non-existent or just too messy to get excited about. We're looking at small, weak swell with poor wind and choppy conditions.

Let’s talk about that one bright spot. Saturday morning, August 22nd at Alfagar (reef), we get a brief flurry of life. The NW swell bumps up to 4 ft with a period of 8 seconds, which gives us a solid waist-to-chest high wave. More importantly, we have clean conditions with a light NW offshore wind and clear skies. The swell direction is spot-on from the NW, which the guidance tells us is the preferred direction for this spot. The combined energy is a solid moderate 232 (units). This is your best chance for a legit session. Keep in mind, though, that this spot is inconsistent, so don't bank on it being a classic, but if you've got the window, Saturday morning is the play.

Everything else is a write-off. There's some small swell trying to pop on Friday morning, August 14th, with 2-3 ft of WNW groundswell and a long 9-second period, plus offshore NNW wind. The water is a very unusual 66°, which is 5° colder than normal for this time of year, so it's a thick wetsuit kind of morning. But the energy is weak at 94 (units) and the score is just too low to recommend. Good conditions on tiny waves. Same story for Sunday morning, August 16th – tiny glassy swell (2-3 ft) but almost no energy (75). It's a surfable wave, but it's ordinary.

Later in the second week, Saturday morning, August 22nd is the only real event. After that, it's back to small, weak, and often onshore. The periods drop to the 6-8 second range, meaning weak, short-period windswell or nothing. Winds stay moderate to fresh from the west or southwest, making things choppy at this exposed reef.

In short, this is a waiting game. The forecast is poor for a long, long time. For the majority of the 16 days, you'd be better off sharpening your fins or fixing a wetsuit tear because the waves are just not there. Saturday morning on the 22nd is your one and only chance – get on it, it won't last.

Rusty.

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