Farol Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch. The whole 16-day window is pretty grim. We’ve got a long run of nothing but poor surf conditions ahead, and the first recommendation doesn’t come until we look at the first half of the period, but even then, it’s a real struggle.

The water’s sitting at 82°F – a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. That bit is nice, but it won’t make up for the surf. From the 29th of August right through to the 13th of September, every single session is marked as “poor surf conditions.” There’s no stand-out day, no hidden gem, just day after day of onshore and cross-onshore winds ruining things. The combined swell energy mostly sits in the moderate range—you’ll see values between 71 and 265 throughout (265 kWh/m is the highest, showing moderate wave energy), but the wind is the killer here.

First few days, the wind is either a cross-on from the E or a direct onshore from the NE. The swell is small, between 4ft and 6ft, with a short, weak period of only 5 to 7 seconds. This is just windswell junk. There’s no quality to be found. Because the only break on offer is Farol, and it’s exposed, these winds are just chopping everything up. The waves are going to be a mess—choppy, lumpy, and ugly. This setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, to be honest. The onshores are relentless.

If I had to pick the absolute best of a bad bunch, and I mean the *best* in a relative sense, it would be the morning of Thursday the 10th of September. The swell is 5ft from the ENE, period is only 6 seconds, so it’s still short-period junk, but the wind finally shifts to a gentle cross-shore from the ESE at 9 mph. That’s the cleanest wind we’ll see, and the combined wave energy is 184, which is moderate. It’s still not good, but compared to the rest, it’s the only time we get a slight cross-shore instead of a full onshore blast. Don’t expect much—it’s a desperate pick.

Other than that one brief moment, it’s a write-off. The entire rest of the period is choppy onshore slop. Swell peaks around 6ft on the afternoon of the 8th of September (energy hits 265 - moderate), but with that fresh onshore NE wind at 19 mph, it’s unsurfable.

There’s a huge 16-day gap of nothing recommended. It’s a tough run, but in this area, a blank run like this is pretty normal when the trade winds lock in from the east and northeast. The consistency at Farol is listed as fairly consistent, but the conditions just aren’t cooperating. It won’t stay poor forever—forecasts can change, but for now, save your energy.

Stay salty.
Rusty.

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