La Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's dial in the numbers for the imperial crew.

We are looking at a solid run of surf coming up at La Barra, a river/jetty break that's exposed to SSW swell. The water temp is sitting around 30°, which is about average for this time of year.

The first real standout hits on Sunday the 26th of July in the morning. It's not huge, around 4ft from the SSW, but the period is a juicy 19 seconds – that's proper long-period groundswell. The wind is glassy from the NW, so you're looking at clean, well-shaped waves. The combined swell energy is 1045 (moderate), but that long period will make for long, walling lines, especially on this river-mouth setup. It's best for experienced surfers at this size, but it's a beautiful morning. Afternoon gets a bit average with a cross-onshore breeze kicking in.

Then Monday the 27th is another ripper morning. Swell bumps up a fraction to 5ft from the SSW, still a solid 18-second period. The wind is dead calm, glassy as anything. This is the pick of the early run – clean, consistent lines. The combined energy climbs to 1306 (moderate). Again, afternoons get a light cross-onshore messing things up.

Tuesday the 28th keeps the good run going. Morning glass-off with 6ft from the SSW, 18-second period – that's getting into the "best for experienced surfers" territory. The combined energy is a meaty 1667 (moderate-strong). It'll be powerful, so take your bigger board if you're not used to it. Afternoon gets a bit lumpy.

After that, it starts to taper. Wednesday the 29th is still good in the morning (5ft, 16 seconds, glassy), but the magic is fading. By Thursday the 30th, the swell drops to 4ft and the period shortens to 14 seconds – still fun and glassy in the morning, but nothing special.

From the end of July into early August, the swell keeps dropping. We get some knee to waist-high mornings, like on Friday the 31st (3ft, 14 seconds, glassy) and Saturday the 1st of August (3ft, 13 seconds, glassy), but the afternoon winds mess it up. The combined energy drops below 500 (weak) from here on.

There's a string of clean, small mornings through the first week of August, like Sunday the 2nd (2ft, 12 seconds), Tuesday the 4th (3ft, 13 seconds) and Thursday the 6th (2ft, 15 seconds), but it's really just small, fun waves.

One interesting note for Friday the 7th of August: the morning is small (3ft) but glassy, and the afternoon, while cross-shore, has a period jump to 18 seconds. The afternoon swell energy clocks in at 469 (weak), but that long period could make for some sneaky, better-shaped waves if you can put up with a bit of wind chop. This is a long-range call, so less certain.

For the absolute standouts: Sunday 26th morning and Monday 27th morning are your best bets for clean, lined-up groundswell. Tuesday morning is also excellent. After that, it's just small but clean mornings, so pick your moment.

Crowds are listed as "sometimes" at La Barra, so on these good mornings, expect company, but nothing crazy. The break is fairly consistent, so even the smaller days should offer something.

Rusty

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