Atalaia (Molhes) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and I've got my eyes on the charts for the next few weeks. Let's talk about what's on the menu.

Overall, we're looking at a pretty quiet start for the first week and a half, with a few small windows of fun surf before something a lot more serious shows up later on. The standout in the whole run is definitely the morning of the 13th, but it's a long way off, so keep that in mind.

Atalaia (Molhes) is the only game in town for this report, and it starts off slow. The morning of the 1st is clean with a tiny 3ft of ESE swell at 8 seconds, but the energy is weak (161). It's surfable, but nothing to get excited about. The afternoon gets messy.

Wednesday the 2nd morning is the first real bright spot. We get glassy conditions and a bump to 4ft of ESE swell (398 energy). That's a solid, clean little wave for an intermediate surfer. The afternoon turns a bit onshore, so hit the morning session.

Thursday the 3rd morning is also worth a look. The wind is light cross-offshore with a clean 3ft ESE swell (277 energy), producing some nicely shaped waves. The rest of that week and the weekend are pretty poor – small, windy, and choppy. Energy drops below 150 most sessions.

Monday the 7th morning brings a pulse of bigger, short-period S swell at 6ft (505 energy), but the wind is light and cross, so it will likely be a bit bumpy. It's a marginal call. The afternoon drops off a cliff.

We get a few glassy mornings on the 9th, but the swell is weak and short-period, so just small, clean slop for beginners.

The real good stuff starts on Thursday the 10th afternoon. The wind swings light cross-offshore and we get a jump to 6ft of ENE swell (610 energy). That's a fun, punchy wave. The morning of the 11th is still sizable at 6ft, but the wind is onshore and messy.

Now, the true standout. Sunday morning, the 13th of September is the one to circle on the calendar. The buoy is showing a serious 8ft of SSE groundswell, with a very long 13-second period, and the combined energy is a massive 2767. The wind is light cross-offshore, promising clean, powerful waves. This is excellent surf, but it's for experienced surfers only. At that size, it's too much for beginners. This isn't a beach break, it's a jetty setup, so that long-period energy should wrap in nicely. This is a proper swell event.

The days after that drop off quickly into onshore wind and smaller fading swell.

So, for the best on offer: Wednesday morning the 2nd offers a clean, fun little wave for the intermediate crew. But the real highlight, the one that gets the blood pumping, is Sunday morning the 13th. That's a big, clean, long-period groundswell. Just remember, it's for the experienced crowd, and it's still a couple of weeks out, so forecasts can shift.

Crowds at Atalaia are listed as "sometimes", so on a standout day, especially the 13th, you can expect company.

– Rusty.

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