Lajao (Baia dos Golfinhos) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a good, hard look at what the next couple of weeks are serving up for Lajao (Baia dos Golfinhos). Straight up, it’s a bit of a tough stretch. This is a reef setup, exposed to the swell, and it needs a very specific window to fire. For the first six days, from Saturday the 25th of July right through to Thursday the 30th, the wave energy is weak, with combined swell energy sitting between 54 and 150. That’s pretty gutless. The swell is a short-period 6 to 8 seconds, mostly from the ESE, which isn't ideal given the break prefers swell from the NE. Winds are cross-offshore, not a disaster, but the waves themselves are just small, weak, and messy. Water temperature is running about average for this time of year, so no surprises there. Honestly, for the first week, it’s a write-off.

We get a tiny glimmer on Friday the 31st of July morning – a score of 1 out of 10 for "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions." The swell is still only 3 ft from the east, period a short 7 seconds, and the energy is a low 93. A light breeze is blowing, which is about the only positive. It’s surfable, but you’d be scraping for scraps. Not worth getting excited about. That afternoon, the wind goes cross-shore and it gets a little choppy, so the morning window is the only look.

The first week of August brings a bit more size, but not much else. On the 1st, the swell bumps to 4 ft to 5 ft, but it’s still short-period and the wind is a moderate to fresh breeze. The energy ticks up to 215-246, but the quality is rated poor. Sunday the 2nd of August morning actually shows some real size – 6 ft from the ESE, period 8 seconds, and a combined energy of 489. That’s moderate energy, but the report says it’s marginal, with questionable tide conditions. The wind is a moderate breeze cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean, but that 6 ft is getting a bit stout for a beginner-friendly reef, and the tide might be working against it.

Monday the 3rd and Tuesday the 4th are much the same story: 4 ft to 6 ft of short-period ESE swell, but the wind goes cross-shore, adding a bit of chop. Not great. We then have a long run of days from the 5th to the 8th of August with poor surf – 5 ft to 6 ft, short period, and a fresh breeze. The energy sits between 240 and 355, which is moderate, but the wind is too strong for it to be fun.

The only real standout, and I mean the *only* one, comes on Sunday the 9th of August. That morning, the swell jumps to 7 ft from the ESE with a period of 11 seconds. Now we’re talking a proper long-period groundswell. The combined energy hits 891, which is strong. The wind is a moderate breeze from the SE, keeping it clean. That's big, powerful, and clean for a reef. But hear me – at 7 ft, this is for experienced surfers only. The long period at a beach break would make it straight, but at a reef like Lajao, it could set up some proper lines. It’s a week and a half away, so don’t lock it in, but it’s the only date with real potential in this entire 16-day window.

Summing it up? You’ve got a full week of tiny, weak slop, then a week of building but messy windswell, and finally one promising morning for the crew with the skills and patience to wait it out. The rest of the time, honestly, you’re better off finding something else to do.

- Rusty.

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