Faja da Areia Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at the next stretch. It's a bit of a slow burner, but there are a couple of pulses of energy waiting out there. We're focusing on Faja da Areia for this whole run, so keep that in mind.

The water's running a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, which is a nice little bonus. The first few days are going to be pretty quiet. Monday the 3rd through Wednesday the 5th are showing some small, clean surf in the morning, with that glassy feel you want. The swell is only around 2ft to 3ft with a weak energy reading (88 to 210). It’s surfable, but honestly, you'll be fighting for a wave that's barely breaking. You'd be better off using the time to clean your board and wax up. There's a small bump in period to 10 seconds on Wednesday, but the wind turns a little cross-on in the afternoon, so the window is tight.

Then it gets properly flat. Thursday the 6th through Tuesday the 11th is a real dead zone. The swell drops right off, with weak energy readings dropping below 100. On the 10th, we're looking at 1ft of swell (28) – that's not even a ripple. It’s about a five-day gap with nothing worth paddling out for. If you're a beginner, this is a good time to work on your pop-ups on the sand.

Things start to stir again on the 11th and 12th. We get some small glassy surf back, around 1ft to 3ft (61 to 172 energy). It's still pretty small, but the conditions are clean with light winds. Tuesday the 12th morning has a 3ft WNW swell with a 9-second period, and it's glassy. That could be a fun session if you're just keen to get wet, but it's not setting the world on fire. This period is really just a warm-up for what's coming.

Now, here's where we need to talk about a real shift. The forecast for Friday the 14th onwards starts to show a bump in size. The swell jumps to 6ft to 7ft, but it's coming from the NE with a short, weak period of 7 seconds. The energy readings get stronger (292 to 448), but that short period means it's going to be a bit lumpy and disorganised. The wind is also cross-on, so it won't be clean. Honestly, this looks more interesting for the kite crew than for us paddling. For the average surfer, it's going to be a bit of a mess.

But hold on. Sunday the 17th. That's the standout. The wind drops to glassy, and that NE swell builds to 6ft to 6ft with the period stretching out to 8 and then 9 seconds. The energy reading jumps up to a solid 444 to 490. This is a proper, clean swell with good shape potential on the point. Given the direction is NE and the optimum for this spot is NNW, it’s not perfect, but it's the best we're going to get. Monday morning looks prime. That's the day to clear your schedule.

After that, on Monday the 18th, the swell is still solid at 6ft to 6ft with energy readings up to 667, but the wind turns onshore and it starts to get a bit lumpy again. The window of opportunity is Sunday, plain and simple. Keep an eye on it, but remember, long-range calls like this are promising, not guaranteed.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a write-off. The middle is small but clean. But make your plans for Sunday the 17th. That’s the one with real potential.

Rusty out.

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