La Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s see what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.

To be straight with you, the outlook is a tough one. We’ve got a solid 16-day window ahead, but it’s a long, dry spell with no real standouts. The swell is coming in from the NNE, which is far from the preferred WNW direction for this spot. That means the waves are going to be weak and messy. The combined swell energy hovers between 136 and 435 (moderate at best), with short periods of 6 to 10 seconds, so it’s all windswell – no real grunt behind it. And the wind? It’s almost always a cross-onshore breeze, blowing at 9 to 16 mph, keeping the surface choppy and ugly. Every single session is flagged as “poor surf conditions,” so there’s nothing to get excited about.

The water temp is sitting at 75°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s the only thing that’s slightly out of the ordinary.

Let’s run through the days. Starting Monday, August 10th, morning brings a 5ft NNE swell with a 6-second period and 16 mph cross-onshore winds – it’s gonna be a choppy mess. Tuesday the 11th is more of the same, with 4ft swell and 12 mph winds. Wednesday and Thursday don’t improve, with swell bumping up to 5ft on Thursday but still short-period and cross-on. Friday the 14th sees 6ft, but again, it’s messy. The weekend of the 15th and 16th is a little smaller, around 4ft to 6ft, but still poor.

The following week, from Monday the 17th, the swell period stretches to 9 seconds, which is a slight improvement, but the wind stays cross-onshore. Tuesday the 18th has a 5ft swell from the N with a 10-second period and combined energy hitting 424 – the best energy of the whole period, but the wind is still cross-on. Wednesday the 19th sees a 5ft N swell with a 10-second period and *onshore* wind, which is actually worse than cross-on for most spots. Thursday the 20th is similar. The last few days, from the 22nd to the 25th, the swell pushes up to 6ft on the 23rd, but it’s still NNE, short-period, and cross-on. By the 25th, it’s dropping back to 3ft.

There is no day in this 16-day window where the wind is offshore or light enough to clean it up. The swell direction is consistently wrong for La Barra. This setup is honestly more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the consistent cross-onshore winds and moderate wave energy.

So, the honest truth is: there are no good surf options in this 16-day window. La Barra is a very consistent break, so this kind of blank run is a bit of a bummer, but forecasts can change. Keep an eye on it, but for now, I’d leave the boards in the car.

Rusty.

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