Farol Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve had a good look at the charts for Farol and I gotta be straight with you – this isn’t exactly a week to write home about. We’ve got a stretch of onshore and cross-onshore winds that just won’t let up, making a mess of what could be some fun little waves. The whole 16-day window is basically one long run of poor surf conditions. From the 25th of August all the way through to the 9th of September, every single session is flagged as “poor surf conditions.” That’s a solid two-week gap with nothing worth paddling out for right now.

Let’s talk about what’s actually out there. The swell energy is moderate but sits mostly in the 100–245 range for the whole first week – like 164 on the morning of the 26th, building to 245 on the 29th, and then 185, 219, and 203 through the start of September. Those aren’t tiny numbers, but with the wind howling from the E and NE at 12–22 mph, it’s all cross-on or onshore slop. The swell is coming from the NE and ENE, mostly short period around 5–7 seconds, so it’s weak, bumpy, and gutless. Swell heights hover between 3 ft and 7 ft – nothing too big for a beginner (under 5 ft on most mornings), but a couple of afternoons hit 6 ft and even 7 ft on the 29th, which is pushing beginner limits. Those bigger pulses (over 7 ft on the 29th afternoon) could be interesting for the experts, but the onshore wind ruins any chance of a decent face.

If I had to pick a best on offer – and I’m scraping the barrel here – the morning of the 26th of August has the E wind at 12 mph cross-on with a 4 ft ENE swell, 7-second period, and moderate energy (164). It’s still poor, but that’s the cleanest mess in the lot. It’s not a standout by any stretch. There’s no glassy offshore window in the whole run, so don’t hold your breath.

The water temp anomaly is nil – no data on that one, so it’s about average for the time of year at Farol.

Look, with the wind being so persistent and the swell being short-period slop, this setup looks more interesting for the kite crew than for a surfer. If you’ve got a kite, you might get something out of the stronger afternoon onshores, but for a paddler, it’s a hard pass. As always, the forecast can change – we’ve seen it swing before – but right now, leave the board in the car.

Rusty.

Read more