Fonte da Telha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what we've got on the cards for this stretch.

Look, I’m gonna be straight with you. The next two weeks are a real grind for anyone wanting to paddle out. We’ve got a solid 16-day window here, but honestly, it’s mostly one for the beach or a longboard walk. The good news is there’s barely a gap with absolutely nothing – there’s always some little bump – but the quality is what’s lacking. We go from now, right the way through the end of the month and into the first few days of September, and it’s a story of messy wind and junky conditions. It’s not until Friday the 4th of September that we finally get a sniff of something decent, so that’s a pretty long wait for a real highlight.

The only spot we’ve got any info on is Fonte da Telha. It’s a beginner-friendly beach break, fairly consistent in picking up swell, but it’s wide open to the Atlantic. It likes a swell from the WSW.

Let’s run through it. Starting Thursday the 20th of August, the morning has a tiny 2 ft of weak WNW swell (53 energy) and a light cross-onshore. It’s flat and bumpy. That pretty much sets the tone. Friday the 21st brings a bit more height, up to 5 ft from the NW by the afternoon, but it’s getting hammered by a fresh 19 mph cross-shore wind, making it lumpy and ugly. That swell energy jumps to 423 (moderate), but you can’t use it.

Saturday the 22nd offers a tiny scrap of hope with 3 ft from the NNW in the morning and a light cross-onshore, but it’s still just small wind ripples. The next couple of weeks are a mix of onshore winds and cross-shore chops. On the 23rd of August, we see a bigger pulse of 6 ft from the WNW (700 energy – moderate), but it’s accompanied by a 16 mph cross-shore wind from the SSE, making conditions poor. This is a recurring theme: moderate swell energy, but the wind ruins it for a paddle surfer. Honestly, with that kind of wind and the wave heights, a kite might be a better shout than a surfboard for most of this period.

We get a brief moment on Friday the 28th of August morning where the wind drops to a gentle cross-shore and the swell is 4 ft from the NW with 313 energy. The report calls it marginal, and I’d agree. It’s probably the least bad option in the first ten days, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Now, the standout window finally arrives on Friday the 4th of September. The morning is looking promising. We have 5 ft of NW groundswell with a short period of 8 seconds. The big news is the wind: it’s predicted to be from the SSE at just 3 mph, which is described as “glassy.” That’s a major positive – clean faces. While the period is short, for a beginner-friendly spot like this, glassy conditions are worth their weight in gold. The water temp is sitting at 70°, which is about average for this time of year. The combined swell energy is 305 (moderate), so there’s some push there. But you need to act fast, because by the afternoon the wind swings onshore and it’s back to poor conditions. That Friday morning is your best bet in the entire 16-day forecast – a clean, if short-period, window of surf.

Other than that fleeting moment, it’s a two-week stretch of waiting for a proper clean swell. The blank run isn’t total, but the quality is a desert.

Stay patient, lads. Check the dawn patrol on that Friday the 4th.

- Rusty.

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