Atalaia (Molhes) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's look at what’s coming down the line for us at Atalaia (Molhes) over the next couple of weeks. It’s a mixed bag, so let's wade through it.

Right off the bat, we’ve got a bit of a flat spell. The water temperature is sitting at 68°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

Thursday the 20th is small. We’re looking at a meagre 3ft of east swell, but the period is only 8 seconds – that’s short period windswill. The energy is weak (79). The good news is it’s glassy in the morning, so you might get some limp little crumbly ones on a longboard, but it’s not exactly going to light your fire.

Friday the 21st is a write-off. The swell drops even further. The wind goes offshore in the morning, but there’s just nothing to work with.

Now, Saturday the 22nd is where things get interesting. We get a punchy 6ft swell from the SSE with a period of 10 seconds, and the energy ramps right up (848). That is a proper bump of moderate-strong energy. It’s a bit cross in the morning, but that’s a solid head-high wave. This is the first real standout of the period. The swell direction is straight out of the SSE, which is the optimum direction for this spot. If you can dodge the morning cross-shore, or wait for a lull, you’re in for the best session of the week. It’s a beach/jetty setup, and with that size, it’s going to be fun for intermediates but could be a bit much for the real groms.

Sunday the 23rd fades back down to tiny. Glassy in the morning, but it’s only 2ft with a long 12-second period. That long period will make the little waves look pretty and peaky, but there’s just no grunt.

Monday the 24th is a funny one. The height is 4ft, but check out that period – 16 seconds. That’s very long period groundswell. The energy is still high (783). At a beach setup like this, a period that long often makes waves stand up too straight and close out. It could be a bit of a freight train. The morning has a light cross-shore, but with that mega-long period, it's going to be tricky and only for the guys who know the bowl.

Tuesday the 25th looks much better. We’ve got 3ft of SE swell at 13 seconds. The energy is still moderate (299). The wind goes glassy in the morning, and even hits glassy again in the afternoon. This is the second standout for the near-term. “Expect good surf conditions” is what we like to see. That combo of glassy conditions and a 13-second period will deliver clean, lined-up walls. It’ll be a bit smaller than Saturday, but the quality will be much higher.

Wednesday the 26th keeps that clean vibe going. Similar swell (3ft, 14 seconds) with strong energy (501). Glassy again in the afternoon. This little run of clean, non-windy days is a gem.

We then hit a gap with a lot of ordinary, wind-affected days. The swell tries to pick up again at the end of August and start of September. Friday the 28th of August has a 5ft ENE windswell in the morning with clean offshore winds. It’s only 8 seconds, so it’s windswell, but 5ft is a decent size and clean is clean.

Saturday the 29th of August is similar. 5ft of ENE swell with glassy conditions in the morning. The period is 9 seconds. It’s not the classiest groundswell, but for a Saturday morning with a head-high wave and no wind, you could do a lot worse. This is your third standout, but it’s a week and a half out so don’t book the day off work just yet.

After that, the whole first week of September looks pretty grim. Onshore winds from the south-southeast take over, and the swell direction swings around to the south-east again. There’s a bit of a spike on the 4th of September with 4ft and a 13-second period, but the winds are a messy cross-shore. It’s marginal at best.

For a long time, the forecast is quiet with no real recommendations for a solid week.

Overall: The clear winner for the whole period is Saturday the 22nd of August for the biggest, most powerful swell (6ft SSE). After that, Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th of August are your best bet for clean, quality, glassy waves. The later swell on the 29th of August is a solid backup but less certain.

Stay stoked.

Rusty.

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