Barrinha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at this run of charts for a while. It’s been a bit of a flat spell, but there’s a real standout waiting for you, and it’s all about patience. The next couple of weeks are a mixed bag, with a long gap of nothing much before a solid pulse shows up.

We’re looking at Barrinha first. It’s a fairly exposed spot, and the water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing wild to report. The first real action is on Saturday the 25th of July – a clean, glassy morning with the swell coming from the southeast at 5 ft. The period is short at 8 seconds, so it’s a bit of a windswell, but with the glassy conditions, it’ll be super clean. The combined energy is moderate (304), and it’s a decent start. Crowds can happen here sometimes, so keep an eye out. As the afternoon goes on, the wind turns cross-on and the quality drops.

Sunday the 26th and Monday the 27th are pretty ordinary. The swell drops, and the wind is messy. Tuesday the 28th has a glassy morning again, with a 5 ft swell from the north-northeast, but the period is super short at 6 seconds – that’s a real weak, choppy windswell, and the energy is only moderate (216). Not worth getting excited about.

Then we hit a big dry patch. From Wednesday the 29th of July all the way through to Sunday the 2nd of August, the surf is tiny, mostly under 3 ft, with poor to marginal conditions. There’s a gap of about 5 days where there’s really nothing to recommend. The wind is all over the place, and the energy is weak.

Now, here’s the one to mark on your calendar. On Monday the 3rd of August, things finally fire up. The morning is an absolute standout. The wind is calm, glassy, and the swell jumps to 6 ft from the east-southeast with an 8-second period. The combined energy is strong (679), and the model is calling for very good surf conditions. This is the best on offer. The swell direction (ESE) is a good match for the optimum swell direction (SE) here, and the glassy conditions will make it super clean. Keep in mind, at 6 ft, it’s a solid size – maybe a bit much for absolute beginners, but great for intermediates and up. The afternoon sees the swell push to 8 ft, but the wind goes light cross-on, and the quality drops to marginal.

Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th of August are a write-off. The swell is big – 7 ft up to 10 ft – but the wind is howling cross-on at 15 mph, making it choppy and ugly. The energy is very strong (up to 1895), but with that wind, it’s only for the most hardcore. Even then, it’s poor quality. For experts only, and even then, it’s not pretty.

The swell stays big through Thursday the 6th, but the wind stays howling cross-on. By Friday the 7th, it’s all gone, dropping to almost nothing. The rest of the outlook is flat to tiny.

So, the bottom line: the first week is a slow grind with a few small, clean windows. The big highlight is Monday the 3rd of August – morning session at Barrinha. Get in early, grab that glassy, 6 ft southeast swell. That’s the pulse to wait for. After that, the wind wrecks it. Stay patient, and you’ll be rewarded.

Rusty.

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