Costa Nova Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's on offer at Costa Nova for the next couple of weeks. The start is looking pretty good, with some clean, glassy mornings to get you out there, but the pattern gets a bit messy after the first few days, and then we hit a real rough patch that stretches for a long time.

Alright, here's how it shakes out:

Wednesday the 12th kicks things off sweetly. There's a glassy calm early with a clean 3ft swell from the WNW, with a period of 10 seconds and moderate energy (213). That's a solid morning for a paddle. By the afternoon though, the wind swings to a cross-onshore breeze at 12 mph and it gets choppy, so aim for the early session. Thursday the 13th is a very similar story: another glassy start, same kind of waist-high swell around 3ft from the WNW (264 combined energy), so nice and clean. The better option is for sure the morning. Friday the 14th again offers a glassy morning with a 3ft swell from the WNW and building energy (337). The wind stays light from the NNW, making for clean, fun waves. Saturday the 15th sees a jump in size, with an 8ft swell from the NNW, but it's short-period (8 seconds) and the wind is a strong cross-shore at 12-25 mph, creating a messy cross-chop. The morning has high energy (819), but the conditions are marginal at best. By the afternoon, the wind really kicks up and the energy hits 1161, but it's poor surf. Sunday the 16th drops a little to a 7ft NNW swell (613 energy) with a light cross-shore wind in the morning, but it's still not clean. This stretch from Saturday the 15th onward gets pretty rough.

Monday the 17th is the next standout. The morning brings a clean 6ft swell from the NNW with a light 3 mph cross-offshore wind from the north (413 energy). That's a big improvement and the surf will be clean and rideable. After that, it's mostly downhill. From Tuesday the 18th well into the following week, the winds are too strong, mostly cross or cross-onshore, and the swell mixes up with short periods. The afternoon of Thursday the 20th, for example, has an 8ft swell but with a strong 28 mph cross-shore wind and energy at 869 – that's going to be a washing machine. For a beach/jetty break like Costa Nova, that kind of power and wind makes it more interesting for kite surfing than a paddle session.

Overall, the first three mornings offer the cleanest, most user-friendly surf. The week after that, from around the 18th, there's a long stretch of poor conditions and strong, messy wind. The forecast into the second week, like the morning of Monday the 24th with a 6ft swell and fresh cross-shore wind, remains poor. Don't bank on anything good out there for a while.

Rusty.

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