Ilha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. We’ve got a bit of a slow burner ahead at Ilha, but there’s some fun windows if you’re patient. The water’s sitting at 70°, which is normal for this time of year—nothing unusual there.

First up, Friday the 3rd is a write-off. Tiny 0.7ft to 1ft of weak SSE swell with onshore chops and a light cross-chop, so don’t bother paddling out. Saturday the 4th lifts a touch to 4ft to 5ft from the south, but it’s onshore and messy with questionable conditions, so it’s not worth the effort.

Now, Sunday the 5th morning is a proper highlight. We’ve got clean 4ft of south swell rolling in at 12 seconds, and the wind is dead glassy—zero breeze. The combined energy sits at 480 (moderate energy). This is the best we’ll see early on, with clean lines and no wind chop. But don’t get too excited for the afternoon; it gets onshore again.

Monday the 6th morning also looks pretty good, with 3ft of south swell at 10 seconds and glassy conditions again—combined energy of 300 (moderate energy). Clean little waves for a paddle.

Tuesday the 7th drops off with 3ft and ordinary surf, and we get a gap of poor conditions through to Friday the 10th. Mostly tiny, choppy, and weak—just leave the board on the rack.

Saturday the 11th sees a small uptick with 3ft from the southeast at 11 seconds, glassy in the morning, but it’s ordinary. Sunday the 12th afternoon is a sneaky little winner: 3ft southeast groundswell with a 12-second period and a clean offshore breeze from the NNW. Combined energy is 199 (weak to moderate). That’ll be tidy and clean for a session.

We then hit another dry spell from Monday the 13th up to the 14th, with only marginal, poor surf.

Now, here’s the long-range standout to keep an eye on. Wednesday morning the 15th: 3ft south swell at 10 seconds, glassy conditions—combined energy 232 (moderate energy). Thursday the 16th morning: 4ft at 9 seconds, also glassy, 370 energy (moderate). And then Friday the 17th morning: 4ft south swell at 11 seconds with dead calm wind—clean glass. Saturday the 18th morning is the real gem: 4ft from the SSE with a 11-second period, a light offshore cross-off breeze from the north, and combined energy of 559 (moderate to strong). This is a weekend highlight—clean, punchy, and well-shaped waves. The afternoon gets blown out with a cross-shore 5ft and stronger energy, but that morning session is pure gold.

Ilha is a reef break here, fairly consistent. The best direction for the break here is SE, and the swell we’ve got coming is mostly south or SSE—so it’s not perfectly aligned, but it’ll still wrap in decently. Crowds are possible at times, but for those glassy mornings it’ll be worth floating out.

In short, Sunday the 5th morning and the run from Wednesday the 15th through Saturday the 18th mornings are your best bets. Keep it on the radar.

Rusty.

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