Arrifana Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let me break down what we’ve got coming up for Arrifana over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but there are a few windows where it all comes together.

We kick off with a real gem, but you gotta jump on it early. Sunday, the 16th of August, is looking like one of the cleanest, most inviting mornings you’ll find in this forecast. The joint is dead calm with glassy conditions, zero wind at all. The swell’s coming out of the NW at a solid 6 ft, and while the period’s only 8 seconds, the combined energy from the swells hitting here is a solid moderate 459. The water is noticeably colder than usual for this time of year—67°, so a good 4° below the norm—gonna need that wetsuit. For a beach and reef setup at Arrifana, that’s a treat. The offshore direction is NNE, which is bang on the optimum NW for this spot, making for some really clean walls.

After that Sunday morning, the surf kind of takes a nosedive for a good stretch. Monday through until early Friday are pretty forgettable. The swell drops right off, we get onshore and cross-shore winds messing things up, and the energy readings dip well down into the weak two-digit numbers. You’d be wasting your time paddling out. There’s a brief, clean spike on Friday the 21st morning with 6 ft and clean cross-offshore wind, but there’s a bit of a question mark over the tide and overall quality—still, it’s worth a look if you’re desperate.

The real standout of the long-range is shaping up for Sunday the 30th of August and into Monday the 31st. Sunday morning has a punchy 6 ft NW swell with a clean cross-offshore wind and the energy is pumping—829, which is very strong! That’s a lot of power heading in, but the wind stays clean, so for an advanced surfer, it’s going to be a ripper. The Monday morning after that is looking glassy again, with a cleaner 5 ft NW swell and a 10-second period, offering better shape and a bit more grunt. The energy is still strong at 459, and with glassy conditions, it’s going to be a treat. This is the pick of the second week, but it’s a week and a half out, so keep an eye on it.

A heads up: if the wind gets cross-shore or onshore, Arrifana’s beach-and-reef setup can get choppy pretty quick, and with some of those stronger swells and poor wind, the setup starts looking more like a kite surfer’s playground than a paddle surfer’s dream.

Overall, if you’re going to pick your moment, it’s the early hours of Sunday the 16th, and then keep your fingers crossed for that potential cannon on the 30th and 31st. The in-between is quiet, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. The forecasts can always change for the better, so don’t write it off completely.

Rusty.

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