Atalaia (Molhes) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Fair dinkum, the next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and ordinary for Atalaia (Molhes). We’ve got a bit of a run of small, weak surf with only a few windows that are worth getting out of bed for. The first few days are all mush and no push, so don’t get too excited just yet.

Starting off on Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th of August, we’re looking at tiny 2ft waves with a short 7-second period. There’s not much energy behind them (84 to 91 in the combined swell energy). The mornings have a slight cross-offshore breeze so it’ll be clean, but honestly, it’s pretty ordinary. You’ll be scratching for a wave.

Thursday the 6th is much the same – same small swell, same lack of push (82-99 in energy). The mornings are clean but there’s just nothing doing.

Friday the 7th sees a tiny bump up to 3ft, but the period is still short at 8 seconds. The morning has a light offshore wind, and the energy creeps to 114, which is something, but it’s still pretty weak.

Now, Saturday the 8th is where things get interesting. There’s a new swell coming in from the southeast with a much longer 15-second period. Morning is still small at 2ft, but by the afternoon it’s pushing 2ft+ and the energy jumps to 345. Best part? The wind goes glassy. That’s the call for the weekend. It’s clean, it’s got some push, and it’s going to be the best of a pretty average bunch.

Sunday the 9th is a write-off. The wind swings onshore from the southeast at 12-15 mph, making it choppy. The swell bumps up a touch but it’s messy, and the energy jumps to 492 but it won’t be any fun with that wind.

Monday the 10th is a bit of a tease. The morning is poor but the afternoon has the swell building to 4-5ft from the SSE with a 12-second period and energy reading 708. That’s a decent amount of energy, but the wind is cross-shore and it’s lumpy. Maybe a few if you’re desperate, but it’s not going to be clean.

The middle of the week, Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th, drops back into the doldrums. Small, weak surf, short periods, and although Wednesday morning goes glassy with 3ft, the energy is only 240. It’s surfable, but only just.

Here’s the standout for the whole period, and it’s a bit of a way off: Thursday morning, the 13th of August. The swell is 5ft from the ENE, and the energy is reading 352. The wind is glassy. The period is only 6 seconds, which is a bit short and it might be a bit walled-up, but it’s the biggest, cleanest swell we see in the whole run. This is the one to keep an eye on for the more confident surfers.

After that, Friday the 14th has a nice glassy morning with a longer 14-second period from the southeast, but the swell is only 2-3ft. It’ll be pretty and clean, but small. The energy is 354, so there’s some push, but you’ll be after the set waves.

The weekend of the 15th and 16th of August is back to small and ordinary. The 16th has a morning offshore wind with clean 3ft waves from the east, but the energy has dropped to 123. It’s rideable, but nothing special. Then the 17th and 18th are pretty poor, with cross-shore winds and lumpy conditions.

The last day in the window, the 19th, has a glassy morning with 3-4ft from the southeast but it’s short-period and weak (151 in energy). Again, surfable, but you’re working for it.

So, summing it up. Don’t get too excited about the next few days. The only real standouts are Saturday morning the 8th for a clean, longer-period swell, and the bigger but short-period swell on Thursday morning the 13th. Everything else is pretty average. And with that water temperature anomaly being about typical for this time of year, it won’t be anything shocking on the skin.

Stay stoked, and check back closer to the weekend.

Rusty.

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