Atalaia (Molhes) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu for the next couple of weeks.

To be straight with you, the run of surf is going to be a bit of a grind. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak waves, and the water is sitting at a pretty average 66°F for this time of year, so nothing too wild on the temperature front. The first real chance to get wet kicks off on Friday the 1st of August, but it’s not going to be anything to write home about.

Friday morning, the 1st of August, sees a small 4ft swell from the ENE with a short, weak period of 6 seconds. The combined energy is in the moderate range (167), but it’s surfable. The wind is light and cross-offshore from the WNW, which will keep the faces reasonably clean. It’s ordinary, but it’s a start.

Saturday morning, the 2nd of August, is a similar story. Same 4ft ENE swell, a slightly better 7-second period, and still moderate energy (145). The wind is light offshore from the W, so the conditions will be clean. It’s still just surfable, nothing to get excited over.

Sunday morning, the 3rd of August, the swell drops a bit to 3ft from the ENE, period up to 8 seconds, and the energy is weak (108). The big positive here is the wind: glassy, dead calm. That’ll make for a very clean, if small, morning session.

Monday morning, the 4th of August, is more of the same: 3ft ENE swell with a 7-second period and moderate energy (110). The wind is glassy again from the NW, so it’ll be clean. Still a small wave, but it’s there.

Then we hit a dry spell. From the 5th of August through to the 9th of August, the swell stays tiny or the wind is messy. There’s a couple of glassy windows in there, like the afternoon of the 5th of August, but the swell is barely 3ft and the energy is weak (90). It’s not worth the paddle.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The 9th of August (Sunday) brings a new pulse from the SE. The afternoon shows a 3ft SE swell, but the period jumps to 16 seconds, and the combined energy shoots up to 402 – that’s strong. This is a proper groundswell. The problem? The wind is onshore, so it’s going to be choppy. Not a great day for Atalaia (Molhes). The 10th of August has a similar story: 3ft SE swell, 15-second period, energy still strong (381-384), but the wind is cross-shore, so it’s marginal.

The standout window is the morning of Tuesday, the 11th of August. The swell is only 3ft, but it’s from the SE with a 13-second period and the energy is strong (288). The wind is glassy from the NNW. That’s the best trade-off of the whole forecast: a clean, long-period groundswell with no wind. It’ll be small, but it’ll be clean and have some push. The break is a bit inconsistent, but on a morning like that, it’ll be worth the look.

The 13th of August (Thursday morning) is another glassy slot with a 2ft, 16-second period SE swell. Energy is moderate (214). It’s tiny, but the potential for a beautiful, clean little wave is there.

The 14th and 15th of August see a bit more size, with the 15th afternoon showing a 5ft SSE swell with a 9-second period and a massive 581 energy reading. But the wind is a moderate cross-onshore, making it choppy. For a beach/jetty setup like this, that’s more of a kite-surfing scenario than a clean paddle session.

Rusty out.

Read more