Bahia de Cata Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here with the lowdown on Bahia de Cata. I gotta level with you – the next 16 days are looking like a total washout for paddle surfing. The finder is giving us a goose egg for recommendations the whole way through. The waves are just not gonna happen, and when they try, it's a mess.

Let's take it from the top. We're starting now, and we've got a long, dry spell. From Wednesday, August 26th, all the way to the morning of Friday, September 4th, it's a total drought. The combined swell energy is a big fat zero (0) for most of that time. There are a few moments where the swell height tries to flicker to life, like Friday morning, August 28th, with a tiny 0.7 ft from the NNE, but it's riding a 13-second period – that's a long-period groundswell for a beach break, which tends to straighten out. Plus, the wind is cross-onshore, so it's just junk. The water temp is sitting at 83° with a tiny anomaly of 0.9°, so it's about average for this time of year – warm, but no help for the waves.

The first little hiccup of swell shows up on Friday afternoon, September 4th. We get a 4 ft swell from the ENE, but look at that period – a pitiful 6 seconds. That's short-period wind swell, and with the moderate cross-onshore wind at 9 mph, the surf quality is still "poor". The combined energy gets up to just 96 (weak). It's a beach-and-reef setup, but with that short, choppy wind swell, it honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The pattern repeats on Saturday, September 5th, with a 3 ft swell from the NE, also a 6-second period, and the same messy cross-onshore wind. The energy is even weaker at 46 (very weak). Sunday morning, September 6th, is glassy, but there's zero swell. It's a tease.

We get a tiny blip again on Thursday, September 10th, with a 1 ft NNE swell on a 11-second period in the morning, and 1.0 ft with a 13-second period in the afternoon. The energy is 42 and 34 (very weak), and the wind is cross-onshore. It's still not enough to call it a surfable wave.

The whole 16-day window is a write-off for decent surf. Bahia de Cata is a very sheltered spot, and it's just not lining up. This kind of blank run is more normal for an area that's this protected. The swell just can't find its way in with the right wind or size. We'll have to wait for the next system to shift. Keep your eyes on the horizon, but for now, the boards are staying in the van.

Rusty.

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