Faja da Areia Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on this outlook.

Honestly, the next 16 days are a real mixed bag, and mostly flat-out disappointing for Faja da Areia (Azores). We’ve got a long wait for anything that gets the blood pumping. The first bit of the outlook is a total washout – tiny, weak, and crossed-up wind. The best of what’s on the table is a specific window around the 23rd and 24th of July, but even that’s a marginal call, not a sure thing.

Right now, starting Thursday the 9th, it’s all small and messy. Thursday morning brings a tiny 1ft NW swell with a weak combined energy of just 47, and a cross-on breeze from the NNW at 6 mph. It’s a skunk. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual. Friday the 10th morning goes glassy, which is a treat, but the swell is still a pathetic 1ft NW and the energy is only 40. Not a wave to be had. Saturday the 11th sees a slight bump to 3ft from the NNW in the morning, with energy climbing to 206, but it’s still cross-on and the score is a flat zero. Poor surf. This pattern of small, weak, cross-on swell with light wind continues day after day right through the 16th.

The first real standout, and it’s a hesitant one, is the morning of Thursday the 23rd of July. We finally see a consistent 4ft swell from the north, with a period of 8 seconds, and a combined energy of 208. The wind is still cross-on from the NNE at 6 mph, which isn’t ideal, but it’s the most energy we’ve seen in a while. The same goes for the afternoon of the 23rd and the morning of Friday the 24th, with 4ft and 5ft from the north and energy hitting 214 and 271 respectively. These are the only sessions where the combined energy gets into the moderate three-digit range, and the swell direction is finally matching the break’s optimum from the NNW. It’s still a light cross-on breeze, but it’s the closest we get to clean. For a point break like Faja da Areia, a 5ft north swell with a 9-second period can offer some fun, lined-up waves, but it’s not going to be a classic. This is definitely for adventurers and those who are keen to get wet, not for beginners. Anything over 5ft can be a handful for those just starting out, but this is on the edge of that.

The rest of the 24th onward looks like a drop back to small, weak, and onshore. Nothing else to write home about.

So, there it is. A long, quiet spell with only a couple of days that might offer a few turns. The best bet is to pencil in the 23rd and 24th of July mornings for a paddle, but keep your expectations in check. The setup is more interesting for a kite surfer than a pure paddle surfer during most of this run.

Rusty.

Read more