La Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get straight into it. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for any proper surf, and I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. The conditions are locked into a poor pattern for a long stretch, so if you’ve got gear to fix or boards to wax, now’s the time.

The whole 16-day window is a write-off for good waves. The swell is there, but it’s all short-period, wind-blown slop coming out of the NNE, and that’s exactly what we don’t want for the exposed beach and reef break at La Barra. The wind is consistently cross-onshore, which is just going to chop everything up and make it messy. You’ll see wave heights around 3ft to 6ft, but with periods of 5 to 9 seconds, it’s not going to have any push or shape. The combined energy is mostly in the moderate range, things like 218, 253, 342, and 364, but it’s all that disorganized windswell that you can’t do much with.

The first stretch, from this Sunday the 9th through to the 16th, is a total loss. We’re looking at 4ft to 6ft of cross-onshore junk, with a moderate breeze from the north or NNE. It’s going to be choppy and lumpy, and the paddle out is going to be a fight for nothing. Morning and afternoon, it’s all the same story. The water temp is pretty average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

We get a slight let-up in the wind on the 17th, with a light breeze, but the swell drops to around 3ft. It’s still cross-onshore though, so it’s not clean, just smaller and less powerful. Not worth getting excited about.

The energy picks up a bit around the 19th, with the combined energy reaching 369, and the swell period stretching out to 9 seconds for a moment, but the wind stays cross-onshore and the surf stays poor. The direction is still all wrong for La Barra. It’s not a stand-out, it’s just more of the same mess.

The last few days, from the 21st through to the 24th, are just a continuation. The wind stays cross-onshore, the swell stays short-period, and the conditions stay poor. On the 23rd, the energy drops to as low as 87, which is weak, and the swell is only around 4ft to 4ft. It’s flat and grovelly.

Look, I’ve got to be honest with you: there is nothing in this forecast that’s worth paddling out for. The swell direction is wrong, the wind is wrong, and the period is too short. It’s a total blank run. If you’re a beginner, even the smaller days are going to be a frustrating mess with the onshore wind. For anyone else, it’s just a lot of effort for poor, gutless waves. This is just a normal poor spell for the area, and it’s likely to stay that way until the wind pattern shifts. The forecasts can change, but right now, I’d find something else to do for the next two weeks.

Stay patient.

Rusty

Read more