Bahia Santa Cruz Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s take a good look at what’s coming down the line for Bahia Santa Cruz over the next couple of weeks.

Right now, it’s a bit of a wait-and-see game. The surf is building from Friday afternoon, but it’s not really firing until we get into Saturday morning. That’s when things start to look a whole lot better.

Saturday, September 5th morning is your first real standout. We’ve got a clean 6ft SW groundswell, with a very long 16-second period pushing in. The energy is strong here, with a combined swell energy of 1659. Winds are light and glassy from the WSW, so the surface will be smooth. This is an exposed spot, and with that long-period swell, it’s going to wrap in nicely. Keep in mind, at 6ft, it’s a solid intermediate wave – not for total beginners. The water is warm at 87°, which is about normal for this time of year.

Sunday, September 6th morning is another beauty. The swell drops just a touch to 5ft from the SSW, still with a very healthy 15-second period. The winds go dead calm, glassy as it gets. Combined energy is still strong at 999. This is excellent, clean surf for the experienced crew.

After that, the swell slowly backs off through the week, but we get plenty of clean windows. Monday, September 7th morning has a smaller 4ft SSW swell with glassy NNW winds. Tuesday, September 8th morning sees a drop to 2ft, but check this out – an 18-second period from the SW and clean cross-offshore winds. That’s a very long-period groundswell, so it’ll be lining up, especially good for this point/reef setup.

The real hidden gem could be Thursday, September 10th morning. The swell bumps back up to 5ft from the SW, 16-second period, and it’s dead calm, glassy. The combined energy is 1060. That’s a serious morning for experienced surfers.

Through the second week, it’s a bit more of a mixed bag. There are plenty of glassy mornings with waist-to-chest high swell, like Friday, September 11th morning (4ft SW, 15s), and Saturday, September 12th morning (3ft SW, 14s). Keep an eye on Friday, September 18th morning – the swell is only 3ft, but the period stretches out to a very long 20 seconds from the SW. That kind of period can produce beautiful, lined-up waves at a spot like this, even if the height is modest.

Lower-quality afternoons are common due to onshore/ cross-onshore breezes, so most days the morning glass-off is the time to go. Crowds are listed as “sometimes”, so you might have a few locals out on the better days, but it’s not going to be a circus.

To wrap it up: the best on offer is Saturday, September 5th morning and Sunday, September 6th morning for size and perfect conditions. The Thursday the 10th morning is a strong contender too if you want quality glass. For the long-range, the Friday the 18th morning could be a sneaky standout with that very long period.

Stay stoked.

- Rusty

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