Costa Nova Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, let’s be real about what’s cooking. This stretch from now through late August is gonna test your love for the sport. We’ve got swell, but the wind is in a bad mood. Just the way it is.

From Wednesday the 5th right through the middle of the month, it’s a rough go. Costa Nova is stuck under a rough cross-onshore breeze that’s wrecking the ocean. Even with waist-to-chest-high swell, mostly from the NW around 3 to 4 feet, the wave quality is terrible. The wind is just wrong. You’ve got moderate wave energy flowing in (the numbers are in the hundreds range), but it’s all wasted. There’s a real stretch from Wednesday the 5th through to Sunday the 9th where there is simply nothing worth paddling out for.

We get a small window on Monday morning the 10th. The wind drops to glassy, and you’ll find about 3 feet of NW swell. The energy is moderate, but the conditions are clean. It’s surfable, just average. The calm makes it worth a look if you’re itchy. The afternoon though? Back to the messy cross-onshore.

From there it stays poor until we hit Friday the 14th. The swell jumps up to 6-7 feet, but it’s short-period NW wind swell, and the cross-onshore wind is still there. The wave energy gets strong (up in the 600s in the morning), but it’s a messy, roped-out wall. With this size and wind, it’s honestly better for kitesurfing than paddling.

That weekend of the 15th and 16th is the same story – swell hanging around 6-7 feet, short period, and a brisk cross-shore breeze. Not a beginner-friendly setup.

Okay, here’s the only real standout in this whole 16-day run. You have to wait for it. On Thursday morning, the 20th of August, the wind finally smells right. A light offshore from the ENE opens up, and we get a clean 7 foot NW swell. The energy is strong. That offshore wind makes this the only truly clean session in the whole outlook. For Costa Nova, this is the one. The waves will be solid with proper shape, good for anyone intermediate and above. Just remember, the period is 8 seconds, so it’s a punchy, wind-driven swell that will hit the sandbanks with some snap.

For most of the rest of the run, you’re better off doing something else. That Thursday on the 20th is the only real promise that’s worth holding onto.

Rusty.

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