La Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let's have a look at what's on the cards for La Barra over the next couple of weeks. To be honest, it's a bit of a tough stretch. The surf is there, but it's never really coming together cleanly. The water temperature is about 74°, which is pretty normal for this time of year with a slight anomaly of 1°, so nothing to get excited about there.

The whole forecast period, starting now and running through to the 16th of August, is pretty much one long, frustrating run of poor surf conditions. There's no real standout window, so we're looking at a 16-day grind with no real "go" days.

The main issue is the wind. We're looking at a persistent cross-onshore breeze from the north, swinging north-northeast, for the entire period. It's a moderate breeze most days, picking up to 16 mph, which is just going to keep the surface choppy and messy. The swell is coming from the north-northeast, which is cross-off to the swell direction, but it's not the ideal direction for La Barra, which prefers a west-northwest swell.

The wave energy is all over the place. In the early days, it's weak, with combined energy readings as low as 118. Then it builds to moderate levels, hitting 271 by the 6th and even reaching 555 on the 14th of August. But that energy is all in a short-period, windswell-type wave, with periods mostly between 6 and 8 seconds. That means the waves will be soft, crumbly, and lacking power. Even when the swell height gets up to 7 ft on the 14th, that short period will make it a lumpy, choppy mess.

The one slight glimmer is the very end of the run. On the 16th of August, the swell direction shifts to due north, and the period stretches out to 10 seconds. There's a bit more energy there – 566 for the morning. But it's still cross-onshore, moderate wind, so the quality will still be poor. It's not a day to get excited about.

Given the persistent onshore wind, building swell, and poor quality, and the fact that La Barra is a beach and reef setup, this whole period looks far more interesting for kite surfing than for paddle surfing. You'd be fighting a bumpy, choppy ocean the whole time. For a beginner spot, it's a write-off, and even for the experienced crew, there's nothing clean on offer.

So, truth be told, there's nothing to recommend here. Keep an eye on the charts, but for the next 16 days, I'd be finding something else to do.

Rusty.

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