Galheta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s comin’ up at Galheta over the next couple of weeks. The water’s sitting at 62° right now, which is a solid 4° colder than usual for this time of year—so you’ll want a decent wetsuit if you’re paddling out. The next couple of days are pretty flat and ordinary, but there’s a real standout session shaping up for Saturday morning, July 11.

Wednesday morning, July 8, kicks off small and clean with 3ft, 9-second swell from the ESE under cross-offshore NW wind at 3 mph. The energy’s weak (113), and it feels pretty average—surfable but nothing to get excited about. Wednesday afternoon holds similar, 2ft, with energy dropping to 80. Not much doing.

Thursday morning, July 9, is a touch better—3ft, 10-second ESE swell, with NNW offshore wind at 6 mph. Winds are light and clean, but the combined energy’s moderate at 158. Still just ordinary, but a slight step up. Thursday afternoon goes wrong—wind swings NNE 12 mph, cross-off, and the surf report calls it poor. Skip it.

Friday morning, July 10, drops to 2ft with a long 14-second ESE groundswell, but it’s cross-on from the SSW at 6 mph. Energy’s moderate (212), but the wind blows it. Friday afternoon’s a write-off with S wind 12 mph onshore and 3ft, 12-second ESE swell. Choppy, messy. Not worth it.

Saturday morning, July 11, is the one to circle. That’s your standout. We’ve got 4ft, 13-second ESE groundswell with glassy conditions—wind’s WSW at 3 mph, flat calm. Combined energy is strong at 596, and the report says expect very good surf. This is the best on offer, hands down. The long period (13 seconds) means solid, well-formed lines, and at a reefy point like Galheta, that’s money. It’s fairly consistent and exposes well to SSE swell, so the ESE direction is nice and clean. Crowds are sometimes an issue, but on a Saturday morning with quality like this, expect company.

Saturday afternoon stays clean with 4ft, 13-second ESE swell and NE wind 3 mph cross-off, energy at 484. Still very good. Sunday morning, July 12, keeps the run going—3ft, 13-second ESE swell, NNW offshore wind 9 mph, energy 341. Clean, offshore, and lined up.

Then things fade. Sunday afternoon drops to 3ft. Monday and Tuesday, July 13–14, are poor—small, onshore, messy. Wednesday morning, July 15, sees a comeback with 3ft, 9-second SE swell and NNW offshore 9 mph, energy 254. Good, but shorter period. Thursday morning, July 16, offers 2ft, 11-second SE swell, offshore N wind 9 mph, energy 298—still clean, worth a paddle if you’re keen.

Friday July 17 holds 2ft ESE swell, offshore, but energy drops to 197. Saturday and most of Sunday, July 18–19, fade badly—small to flat. Then Monday afternoon, July 20, things perk up again with 5ft, 8-second ENE short-period swell. Energy’s moderate at 311. Tuesday morning, July 21, brings 6ft, 8-second ENE swell, NNW offshore 6 mph, energy 394. But that short period means straight, dumpy walls—this is expert territory at over 5ft, and the short period makes it punchy and tricky. Afternoon on the 21st turns onshore. Wednesday and Thursday, July 22–23, hold 6ft short-period ENE swell, mostly onshore or cross-on—not great for surfing, but that wind and chunky short-period swell is actually more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. By Thursday afternoon, July 23, we see 4ft ENE with clean offshore NW wind, energy 225—a solid finisher.

So overall: Saturday morning July 11 is the absolute standout—glassy, 4ft, 13-second groundswell. After that, it’s a mix of clean but smaller days, with a short-period blip around July 20–23 that’s more for the experienced crew or the kite crowd.

Rusty.

Read more