Atalaia (Molhes) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, looking over the next couple of weeks for Atalaia (Molhes). The water’s sitting at 64°, which is a tick colder than usual for this time of year, so a bit of a nip in the air. It’s a bit of a slow start, but there’s some serious firepower building for the end of next week that’s got me pretty amped.

Right out of the gate, Sunday the 5th is a bit of a write-off with poor surf. Monday is pretty ordinary too, just small, weak waves. Then Tuesday morning, July 7th, we finally get a little life. It’s only 6ft surf but with a short 8-second period, so it’ll be a bit fat and sectiony. The magic is that it’s glassy – dead calm – so paddle-out will be easy and it’ll be clean. Combined energy is moderate at 622, but the quality is held back by that short period.

Things get small again for a few days after that. Wednesday the 8th through to Friday the 10th is mostly small, weak surf with energy dropping to around 100 (80-122 range). There’s a few clean windows but don’t expect much push.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Saturday morning, July 11th, we see a proper groundswell pulse. A 3ft swell from the east with a 13-second period – that’s a long-period groundswell. Combined energy jumps to 375. And the wind? Glassy. That combo is a true standout. This will have some real grunt and shape, especially for a beach/jetty setup. The swell direction is SSE, and that’s the optimum, so it lines up perfectly. Sunday the 12th stays clean with a solid 3ft from the ESE, still with a long 12-second period, and energy at 316. Good times.

The absolute highlight of the whole forecast is Tuesday the 14th and Wednesday the 15th. Tuesday afternoon we’re looking at 5ft from the SE with a 13-second period, clean offshore wind from the west at 16 mph. Combined energy is a strong 772. This is proper, powerful, well-shaped swell with clean offshore winds. This is the best on offer. It’s pushing into the 5ft range, so if you’re a beginner, this might be a bit full-on, but for intermediates and above, this is a session to block out.

Wednesday the 15th morning holds with similar 5ft and a 13-second period, still with clean offshore wind, energy hitting 891 – very strong wave energy. The afternoon turns onshore though, so get it in the morning.

We get a solid run through to the end of the window. Thursday the 16th morning is 5ft from the ESE, 13-second period, clean offshore, energy at 888. Another top-tier session. Friday the 17th drops a little to 4ft but stays clean. The final weekend fades out to small, glassy, low-energy surf from the east-northeast with a short period. It’s clean but weak.

So to sum it up: the first few days are a wash. The standout window is absolutely Tuesday the 14th through the morning of Thursday the 16th. That is the money. Clean, strong, long-period groundswell with offshore winds. Don’t sleep on the 11th either – glassy and punchy for its size.

Rusty.

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