Lajao (Baia dos Golfinhos) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a hard look at what’s coming up for the next couple of weeks.

The overall picture for Lajao (Baia dos Golfinhos) is a long, drawn-out run of pretty average to poor surf. The first week and a half is a real struggle, with frequent onshore wind and a weak, short-period swell. The second week shows a slight bump in size and energy, but the wind never really gets out of the way, so the quality remains low for most of the period. We’re looking at a solid 7 days of really tough conditions before we even get a sniff of something marginally better.

From Monday the 13th right through to Sunday the 19th, the call is almost uniformly poor. The swell is tiny, sitting around 3 ft to 5 ft, all from the E or ENE, with a short period of 6 to 7 seconds. That’s a weak, choppy windswell, and the combined energy is low, hovering between 75 and 220 (weak to moderate energy). The wind is a constant cross-on or cross-off, mostly from the SE or ENE, at 6 to 19 mph. It’s not clean, it’s not powerful, and it’s not worth paddling out for. The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is pretty much average for the time of year.

The first tiny glimmer of hope comes on Monday the 20th and Tuesday the 21st. The swell nudges up to 5 ft from the E, with a period of 8 seconds and the combined energy jumps to 266 (moderate to strong energy). The wind is still a stiff cross-off from the SE at 12 mph, but the conditions are listed as “clean.” The forecast still calls it “marginal surf,” so it’s a maybe, not a goer.

The real standout, if you can call it that, is on Saturday the 25th. The morning shows a 6 ft swell from the ESE, with a period of 8 seconds and a combined energy of 539 (strong energy). That’s the biggest swell of the entire forecast. The catch? The wind is cross-shore from the E at 12 mph, which is going to mess with the shape. 6 ft is a bit much for beginners, and the onshore cross-chop will make it a challenge. For a skilled surfer on a bigger board, it might offer the best, albeit messy, wave of the fortnight.

Apart from that, the rest of the period from the 22nd to the 28th is a mix of “poor” and “marginal” calls. The swell rarely gets above 5 ft, the period stays short at 7-8 seconds, and the wind is almost always a cross-off or cross-shore from the SE or ESE, making it hard to find a clean face. The combined energy fluctuates but never gets into the “very strong” range.

Honestly, this is a tough run. For a beginner, there’s nothing here. For experienced surfers, the 25th is the only day that’s worth a look, and even then, the wind is a problem. The setup might be more interesting for a kitesurfer looking for a stiff cross-breeze, but for paddle surfing, it’s a long wait for a very average window.

Rusty, signing off.

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