Ilha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s shaping up at Ilha over the next couple of weeks.

It’s a bit of a slow start, with the first real recommendation not popping up until Wednesday morning, July 15th. Before that, we’ve got a few days of messy, choppy conditions and questionable swell. Sunday the 12th starts with a weak, cross-shore 2.6ft SE swell (combined energy of 255) but it’s just not clean enough. The rain showers and building wind on Monday the 13th actually push the swell up to 7.2ft in the afternoon (combined energy of 1630), but with a strong cross-onshore wind, it’s blown out and choppy—honestly, that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than a paddle session.

The first real standout comes Wednesday morning, July 15th. We’ve got a clean 4.3ft SE groundswell rolling in with a solid 11-second period and combined energy of 436. The key here is the wind: it’s glassy, dead calm, with a slight air from the north. That’s going to make for some beautiful, clean faces at Ilha. This is a reef break that’s fairly consistent, exposed to the SE swell, and it’s an intermediate-level wave. Expect some good shape on this one.

Thursday the 16th morning is almost a carbon copy—another 4.3ft SE swell (combined energy of 399) with glassy conditions. It’s a great little run of clean surf. Friday the 17th morning keeps the theme going with a slightly smaller 3.9ft SE swell (combined energy of 393), but with a light cross-offshore breeze, it’ll be clean and peeling nicely.

After that, we see the swell dropping off. From Saturday the 18th onward, it gets pretty marginal. The energy dips into the weak range (combined energy of 135 on Saturday morning), and by Sunday the 19th, we’re looking at dribbly 1.6ft waves. There’s a long gap of tiny, poor-quality surf from the 18th right through to the 25th of July. The swell is short-period and weak, and while there are some offshore wind moments, the waves are just too small to get excited about.

But hold on. The long-range forecast is showing some promise. Sunday the 26th of July is shaping up to be the best of the whole outlook. Early morning we’ve got a 3.3ft S swell, but with a very long period of 12 seconds and combined energy of 504—that’s moderate energy and quality. And the wind? Glassy, with a slight air from the NNE. For a reef break like Ilha, a long period swell from the south can really line up nicely. This one is a standout, but it’s a week and a half away, so while it looks promising, don’t book your flights just yet. Keep an eye on it.

Monday the 27th morning is more of a return to middling conditions with a cross-shore breeze and a weaker 3.0ft swell (combined energy of 326).

So, bottom line: the first week has a couple of nice, clean mornings on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The second week is mostly flat and poor until that Sunday the 26th, which is the one to circle on the calendar.

Stay stoked.

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