Barrinha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s cookin’ for Barrinha over the next couple of weeks.

First off, I gotta be straight with you – the next week or so is looking pretty grim. The surf window is almost completely shut for a solid run of days. The earliest we get anything worth paddling out for is Monday the 27th of July, but even that’s a tough sell. We’ve got a tiny 2ft SSE swell rolling in with a period of 8 seconds, and the combined energy is weak at 113. It’s barely surfable, and the conditions are just ordinary. The morning is glassy, which is a small mercy, but by the afternoon the wind swings east and picks up to 12 mph, turning it into a messy cross-shore. Hardly worth wetting the wetsuit.

That’s pretty much the story for the next several days – a long, flat, and blown-out stretch. From Tuesday the 28th right through to Saturday the 1st of August, the scores are all zeros. The wind is either onshore, cross-onshore, or just too strong, and the swell drops to a pathetic 0.7ft to 2ft most of the time. Wednesday the 29th afternoon sees a brief bump to 4ft from the NE, but it’s a 5-second windswell with strong 19 mph cross-onshore winds – that’s fresh breeze and lumpy junk. Honestly, that setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer.

The water temperature is about average for the time of year, so no wild surprises there.

We finally get a little flicker of hope on Friday the 7th of August. The morning is still a bit messy with a light NNW wind, but by the afternoon the wind swings south at 22 mph, turning offshore. That’s a fresh offshore breeze, and it scrubs up a 2ft SSE swell. It’s small, but clean. The combined energy is still weak at 93, but it’s a surfable wave.

The real standout, though, is Saturday the 8th of August at Barrinha. The morning starts with a 2ft SSE swell and a 13-second period, giving it moderate energy at 213. The wind is SSW at 16 mph, which is a clean cross-offshore flow. That’s the best-looking setup in the whole 16-day window. The swell direction is straight from the south, which is exactly what this spot likes. The period is long enough to give the waves some shape and power, though being a beach break, it might straighten out a little. Still, the conditions will be clean, and the crowd is only sometimes there, so you might get a few waves to yourself. The afternoon holds up too, with a solid 2ft SSE swell and 12-second period, with moderate offshore wind at 12 mph. It’s the best on offer, no contest.

The following Sunday the 9th of August is a letdown – the swell drops to 1ft with a 10-second period, and the energy is weak. Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th are just junk again.

So, to sum it up: the next week is a write-off. Hold out for Saturday the 8th of August. That’s your day. The swell is small but clean, the wind is offshore, and the south swell is right in the slot. It’s not a big day, but it’s the only real window of quality we’ve got.

Rusty out.

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