Faja da Areia Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s on the menu for this stretch.

The immediate outlook is pretty grim for Faja da Areia. We’ve got a long dry spell ahead. The first week and a half is basically a write-off for any decent surf. The conditions are all over the place with onshore winds and poor surf quality, making it a tough go. You’re looking at a gap of about 12 days before anything remotely rideable shows up.

Monday, August 17th kicks things off, but it’s not one to get excited about. Swell is 5ft from the NNE (optimum is NNW), with a weak period of 9 seconds. The wind is onshore and the combined energy is moderate at best (402). There’s a note about marginal surf and questionable tide – honestly, this is a stay-on-the-beach day.

That same pattern drags on through the rest of the week and into the next. We see heights between 3ft and 6ft, but the wind stays onshore from the north or cross-on, and the quality is called “poor.” The energy stays in the moderate range (169 to 459). It’s frustrating because there is swell, but it’s blown out.

Monday, August 24th offers a glimmer with a 6ft NNE swell, but again, it’s marginal with onshore wind. The energy bumps up a little (410), but the period is short at 7 seconds. Not the one.

The real standout in this whole 16-day window is Saturday, August 29th. That morning, things finally come together. We’ve got a 5ft swell from the NNE, but the wind goes glassy. Absolutely flat calm. That’s the magic word here – glassy conditions will make the most of any swell. The combined energy is moderate (371) and the period is short at 6 seconds, but with no wind, that’s a session you can get some clean, fun waves. This is the best on offer, hands down.

After that, the swell holds over Sunday, August 30th and Monday, August 31st, but the wind shifts back to cross-on, and the quality drops back to marginal. Sunday afternoon does see a jump in energy to 934, with a 6ft N swell and a 10-second period, which is more power, but the cross-on breeze will chop it up.

Looking way out to Tuesday, September 1st, there’s a long-period groundswell on the horizon. A 5ft NNW swell with a very long 15-second period and the combined energy is strong (1095). That’s a lot of energy, but the wind is cross-shore. That long period will create some clean, lined-up waves for the point, but the cross-breeze will be a factor. It’s a promising look for the future, but we’re talking over a week away, so take it with a grain of salt.

So, to sum it up: tough sledding for most of the run, but that glassy Saturday morning on the 29th is your clear winner. For the beginners, the 5-6ft days are doable if the wind was right, but it mostly isn’t. For the experts, that Sept 1st long-period swell could be interesting if the wind plays nice, but it’s too far off to call.

Rusty.

Read more