Barra Velha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about the surf outlook for Barra Velha.

Right now, the surf is small and ordinary. We’re looking at a pretty flat and mundane start with no real standouts for the first few days. The water is sitting around 65°, which is pretty much what you’d expect for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

Sunday afternoon (5 July) is a glassy, small-wave affair with 3ft of SE swell, period around 11 seconds. Combined wave energy is low at 171. It’s surfable but very ordinary. Monday morning (6 July) is similar, still tiny and glassy from the NW wind, but the energy is a bit better at 194. Still, these are just pootlers.

Tuesday morning (7 July) sees a pulse: 6ft from the SSE, but the period drops to 8 seconds and the wind is cross-shore. That’s a lumpy, messy combo with moderate energy of 597 – looks more like a kite day if you ask me. Tuesday afternoon glassed off with 4ft SE swell and a decent 10-second period, which is the first small window of fun but nothing special.

From Wednesday (8 July) through Friday (10 July), it’s back to tiny glassy waves, under 3ft, with weak energy (mostly below 120). A lot of "surfable but very ordinary" sessions.

Now, the first real standout comes on Saturday morning (11 July). Glassy conditions, 3ft of ESE swell with a long 13-second period, and combined energy jumping to 343. That’s a proper groundswell pulse. This long period will make the waves more powerful and better shaped, but at a beach break it can get a bit closey and straight – still, for the size, this is the best we’ve seen so far.

Sunday morning (12 July) keeps the good run going: glassy, 3ft ESE, 12-second period, strong energy of 311. Another quality small-wave session.

The big news comes mid-week. Tuesday (14 July) afternoon is a cracker: 5ft SE swell, 13-second period, and a moderate offshore wind from WSW at 12 mph. Combined energy is a solid 643. This is clean, powerful, and well-shaped. That’s the pick of the period for sure.

Wednesday morning (15 July) follows with 5ft SE, 13-second period, and offshore wind at 6 mph. Energy hits 811. This is excellent, but at 5ft it’s getting a bit much for beginners; it’s still fine for most intermediates. Wednesday afternoon gets a bit iffy with onshore wind.

Thursday morning (16 July) is another glassy gem: 5ft SE, 13-second period, energy at 769. That’s a ripper morning. Afternoon gets cross-on and messy.

From Friday (17 July) onward, the swell slowly fades. Friday morning is still good: 4ft SE, 13-second period, glassy, energy at 471. But the afternoons get cross-onshore and the weekend drops back to tiny, ordinary surf below 3ft. The very end of the run (20 July) sees a small bump of 4ft ENE with a short 8-second period, but the winds turn onshore, so it’s not worth getting excited about.

In short: the first week is quiet, but from Saturday 11 July through Thursday 16 July there’s a run of really clean, glassy-to-offshore mornings with a proper long-period SE groundswell. The absolute standout is Tuesday 14 July afternoon: 5ft, 13-second SE swell, clean offshore wind, solid energy. That’s the one to plan for. Late in the run it fades back to small stuff.

Rusty.

Read more