Barrinha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, checking in with the local outlook for the coming days. It’s a bit of a slow start, but we’ve got a promising run of cleaner surf shaping up later, especially if you’re willing to wait for the weekend after next.

Right now, we’re in a flat spell. The water is 60° and sitting much colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want a decent wetsuit. For the first few days, from Friday the 17th through to Monday the 21st, it’s pretty much a write-off. The swell is tiny, barely a ripple, and the wind is mostly cross-onshore or choppy. There’s nothing worth paddling out for. You’ll be staring at a blank ocean.

Then on Tuesday the 22nd, things start to whisper. Wednesday morning the 22nd, we see a slight bump, but the conditions are still very ordinary. The real shift kicks off Wednesday afternoon the 22nd. The wind goes offshore out of the WSW at 6 mph, and we get a 4ft south swell with a 10-second period. The combined energy is moderate at 320, and it’s clean. This is the first proper window.

Thursday morning the 23rd is actually a standout. Glassy conditions, light W wind, 4ft swell from the SSE at 10 seconds, and energy at 326. It’s clean, it’s quiet, and that’s a solid window for a session at Barrinha.

Friday the 24th keeps the clean cross-off wind, with a 3ft south swell in the morning, but by the afternoon it jumps to 6ft with a short 8-second period. That’s getting a bit bumpy and a touch too much short-period energy for the casual surfer. It’s marginal.

The weekend of the 25th and 26th gets messy again with cross-onshore winds and choppy conditions, so we’ll skip that. Monday the 27th sees a return to offshore winds and a smaller, cleaner 3ft swell.

Now, the real news is further out. On Tuesday the 28th, the swell jumps to 8ft from the SE, with a combined energy of 1054 – that’s strong wave energy. But the wind is cross-off at 16 mph, and the conditions are marginal. Not ideal for a paddle.

But hold on. Wednesday the 29th is where it gets interesting. Offshore wind out of the SW at 3 mph, with a 6ft swell from the east. Then by afternoon, it goes glassy with a 5ft east swell. Both windows are clean, and the energy is still strong. That’s a very good day.

The absolute best, however, is the first of August. Saturday morning the 1st of August, we get a 5ft ESE swell with a 13-second period, cross-off wind, and clean conditions. The energy is 904 – strong. And then Saturday afternoon, it gets even better: 5ft ESE swell, 16-second period (that’s proper groundswell), light cross-off wind, and the energy is 1318. The surf will be powerful, clean, and have good shape. Barrinha will be the spot. Keep in mind that long period swell like this can break a bit straight at beach breaks, but with the right tide, it’ll be a treat.

Between the 22nd and the 1st, there’s about a week of on-and-off, but the clear winner is that first weekend of August. Don’t sleep on the Wednesday the 29th either, but the 1st is the standout.

That’s the story from here. Get out there when you can.

Rusty.

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