Barra Vento Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s talk about the stretch ahead. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, with a slow start, a rough patch in the middle, and a glimmer of hope toward the end to get you out of bed.

The early part of the window is pretty grim. We’ve got a small, short-period swell pushing in from the SSE, but the wind’s all over it, coming cross-on from the southeast, which is going to chop it right up. The water sits at 79°F, which is pretty normal for this time of year. Don’t get too excited about the weekend; Saturday and Sunday look like a write-off for any decent waves. The swell’s small and the wind’s just making it messy.

Then we hit a bigger pulse of energy early next week, around the 17th and 18th. This is where it gets serious, but in a bad way. We’re looking at swell heights over 7ft, but with a period of only 7 to 8 seconds, that’s just windswell junk. Combined with those strong SE winds, it’s going to be a lumpy, crumbling mess. Honestly, with that combination of significant swell, poor quality, and strong cross-onshore wind at a beach setup, this looks way more interesting for the kite surfers than for us paddle surfers. The energy will be strong (521-592), but it’s not for the faint-hearted, and definitely not for beginners.

We get a slight reprieve mid-week, with the swell dropping back under 7ft, but the wind’s still not our friend. It stays cross-on for most of the time. There’s a small window on Thursday morning, the 20th, when the wind goes glassy and the swell cleans up a bit. It’ll be small at just over 4ft and short-period (8 secs), but a quick dawn session might be your only chance for a few clean one-footers. The energy is moderate (219).

After that, it drops right off. The following week is a bit of a flat spell for the most part. There are a couple of mornings with light offshore winds and tiny waves, but nothing that would really get you excited. It’s mostly small, short-period swell with fresh onshore winds ruining the afternoons. We’re talking about a few days with very little on offer here.

The real standout, and the one you should circle on the calendar, is Saturday the 29th. It’s still a week away, so treat it as promising but not guaranteed. But the models are showing a clean morning with 5ft of ENE swell. The period is still short at 7 seconds, but the wind is due to go light offshore from the north, which should make Barra-Vento (Cape Verde) look a whole lot cleaner and more organized. The energy is moderate (309). This is your best bet for a proper surf.

The last day of the window, Sunday the 30th, also has a clean start with a bit of NE wind. The swell is similar, but a bit smaller at 3ft, and the period looks a little longer in the afternoon, but the wind will get on it. So, stick to the morning sessions on those days.

So, there you have it. It’s not going to be a classic run, but that Saturday looks like the one to chase. Hang in there.

Rusty.

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