Busca Vida Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’ve got a look at the next 16 days for Busca Vida. Let me tell you, it’s a tough stretch for the most part. We’re looking at a long, long dry spell before anything even gets close to interesting.

The water temp is sitting at 79°, which is right on the money for this time of year—nothing unusual there.

For the first week and a half, from Thursday the 23rd of July all the way through to Wednesday the 5th of August, it’s a total write-off. The surf is small, the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore from the east, and every single session is flagged as poor surf conditions. The combined swell energy is weak, often in the double digits (like 74, 89, 103) or low triple digits, so there’s just no push. You’ll be sitting on a flat board for days. This is a big gap—nearly two weeks of no real surf to speak of.

Now, things finally start to look a little different on Thursday the 6th of August. The swell picks up, coming from the SSE at about 5ft with a period of 10 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 814 (moderate). The wind is still onshore from the ESE, but it’s a gentle breeze. Still, it’s only “marginal” surf, so don’t get your hopes up too high. The real standout is Thursday afternoon, when the swell jumps to 10ft, same SSE direction and 10-second period, and the energy gets strong at 1817. That’s a lot of water moving. But that’s a big wave—over 8ft—so this is for experts only. Plus, the onshore wind will keep it a bit messy. For a reef break like Busca Vida, a long period swell like 10 seconds can mean better shaped waves, but the wind is the enemy here.

Into Friday the 7th of August, we still have a sizeable swell, 10ft in the morning and 8ft in the afternoon, from the SE. The energy is still strong at 1480 and 1264. But again, it’s marginal, with onshore wind. Big, windy, and not clean.

If you ask me, the one true standout in this whole 16-day window is the Thursday afternoon of the 6th of August. The size is proper, and the energy is there. But you’ll need to be a solid expert to handle it, and the conditions won’t be glassy. The crowds are listed as “sometimes” at Busca Vida, so you might have a few other crew out there. It’s not perfect, but it’s the only time the ocean really gets its act together.

For the rest of it, honestly, if you’ve got a kite, that might be a better bet on those windy days, because the paddle surfing is a no-go for most of the period.

Signing off,
Rusty

Read more