Cogumelo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’m lookin’ at the charts for the next couple weeks around the break known as Cogumelo. Honestly, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. There’s a solid window early on, but then it gets real quiet for a long stretch before a possible pulse returns at the very tail end. Let’s get into it.

The surf story kicks off on Saturday morning, 15 August with nothin’ to write home about. Swell is 5 ft from the NW, but that’s a short-period 8 secs, and the wind’s a cross-on from the NNW at 15 km/h. The wave energy is only moderate at 251, and the surface is choppy. No go.

Sunday morning, 16 August is where it gets interesting. We’ve got a 5 ft NW swell with a 9-second period, giving us moderate energy at 372. The wind turns off from the ENE at just 3 mph (5 km/h), making for clean waves. That’s the standout of the whole outlook—glassy, solid chest-to-head-high waves, clean faces, and the break is fairly consistent. You’ll want to be in the water early. Keep in mind, though, the swell is a bit big for beginners at over 5 ft, so intermediate and up will have the best time.

That Sunday morning vibe is the highlight. After that, it’s a long, painful slide. From Sunday afternoon onward, the surf quality drops off a cliff. Swell heights tumble below 2 ft for days on end, especially from Monday 17 August through to the end of the week. Winds go wrong—onshore and cross-onshore—with the combined wave energy falling into the low two-digit range, like 20, 30, 56. That’s weak. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

We get a brief tease on Thursday morning, 20 August with a 2 ft WNW swell, a 9-second period, and glassy conditions—wind from the north at 3 mph (5 km/h). The wave energy is weak at 61, but those smooth, clean little waves could give you a fun little slide if you’re desperate. It’s surfable, but ordinary.

Then from Friday 21 August through the following week, the swell height bounces between 0.3 ft and 3 ft, with periods all over the shop. The winds are mostly cross-on or cross-shore, and with a fresh breeze on Sunday 23 August hitting 19 mph (30 km/h), the ocean’s a mess. Even when the swell pops to 6 ft on Friday 21 August morning—moderate energy at 451—the cross-on wind ruins it.

There’s a solid gap of no worthwhile surf from Monday 25 August through to Thursday 27 August. Just flat conditions.

Friday 28 August morning offers a glimmer: a 4 ft NW swell with a 10-second period and a light cross-shore wind at 6 mph (10 km/h). Energy is moderate at 206. It’s considered marginal—scratchy conditions but maybe a few rideable ones if you’re keen.

Finally, Sunday 30 August morning shows a 5 ft NW swell (9-second period, 346 energy) with light cross-on wind at 6 mph (10 km/h). Again, it’s marginal. Not the clean session we had on that Sunday morning two weeks prior.

Overall, if you’re paddling out, your one true standout is Sunday 16 August morning. After that, the ocean goes into a long funk. For all the other days, the direction is mostly NW, but Cogumelo’s optimal swell direction is SW—so the angle is off, the wind’s rarely kind, and the wave quality just isn’t there. This setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on most days.

Stay salty.
– Rusty

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