Atalaia (Molhes) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks at Atalaia (Molhes). Honestly, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The first week is pretty grim with a lot of onshore chop and junk, but if you hang in there, the second half of the window starts to look a lot more promising. The best surf is definitely later on, so don’t give up hope.

Right, let’s get into it. Things kick off on Thursday the 10th with small, weak surf. The morning shows a 3ft swell from the ENE at a short 8 seconds, with a light cross-off breeze. It’s clean enough, but the energy is low (164). The afternoon actually improves in quality with a 2ft swell from the SSE, but check out that period – 15 seconds! That’s a proper long-period groundswell, giving a combined energy of 314. It’s clean with a light breeze, making for some surprisingly fun, lined-up waves despite the small size. This is a solid little session for the patient surfer.

Friday the 11th is a write-off. The morning is back to the short-period 3ft ENE windswell with a cross-off breeze, but the energy is weak (138). The afternoon goes totally cross-on and poor. Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th are just nasty – onshore winds, short-period windswell, and choppy, messy conditions. The combined energy picks up on Sunday afternoon to 403, but with a 5ft SE windswell and a cross-on breeze, it’s just a washing machine. Not worth paddling out.

Monday the 14th is no better, with moderate rain and strong onshore wind. Tuesday the 15th is where we see a glimmer of hope. The morning brings a clean 5ft swell from the E at 9 seconds, with a nice light offshore wind from the W. The energy jumps to 426. That’s the first decent session of the forecast – clean, lined-up, and with some push. The afternoon goes a bit cross-on and marginal, but the morning window is the pick of the early days.

Wednesday the 16th is back to choppy, onshore junk. Thursday the 17th morning is glassy, with a tiny 2ft SE groundswell at 12 seconds (energy 217). It’s clean, but small. Friday the 18th is where it gets *really* interesting. Friday morning is glassy with a 5ft ENE swell at 8 seconds, energy of 368 – good, clean waves. But Friday afternoon is the standout of the entire forecast. We’re looking at a 7ft ENE swell, still a short 8-second period, but it’s glassy. The combined energy is a massive 947. That’s serious power for Atalaia. This is the one to circle on your calendar – expect very good, clean, powerful surf.

Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th drop back down to poor, onshore conditions. Monday the 21st is glassy again but small – a 3ft E swell at 8 seconds. Surfable but ordinary. The rest of the week into the 24th is a mix of light breezes and poor cross-on winds, with small swell.

The real late-bloomer is Friday the 25th. The morning is glassy with a 6ft ENE swell at 9 seconds, and the combined energy is a solid 528. That’s another very good session – clean, powerful, and well-shaped.

So, to sum it up: if you want the best, you’ve got two standouts. Friday afternoon the 18th is the absolute winner – 7ft, glassy, and pumping (energy 947). The morning of Tuesday the 15th and Friday morning the 25th are also excellent, clean options. Everything else is either small, onshore, or a messy chop. The water temperature is about average for this time of year.

Stay patient, get on that Friday the 18th window, and you’ll be stoked.

Rusty.

Read more