Lajao (Baia dos Golfinhos) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s your old mate Rusty here. I’ve had a good hard look at the charts for Lajao, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a grim outlook. We’ve got a solid wall of SE trade winds that just won’t let up, and that swell direction is all wrong for the break.

Lajao (Baia dos Golfinhos) needs swell from the NE to really work its magic, and what we’re seeing is a constant stream of short-period, east-to-southeast windswell. The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

For the whole of Wednesday the 15th and Thursday the 16th, the surf is tiny and junk. Wave heights are bouncing between 3 ft and 4 ft, with periods barely hitting 7 seconds. The wind is a stiff 12-16 mph cross-offshore, which keeps the surface clean, but the energy is pathetic. Not worth paddling out for.

Friday the 17th isn’t any better. Swell bumps up slightly to 4 ft-4 ft, but it’s the same story: short period, poor conditions, and a score that tells you to stay on the sand. The combined energy creeps up a bit, but it’s still weak.

The weekend offers nothing to get excited about. Saturday the 18th sees some bigger numbers – 5 ft to 5 ft with energy picking up – but the wind is still howling and the wave comment is “poor surf conditions.” Sunday the 19th is the biggest we’ll see, with waist-high 5 ft-6 ft swell and a bit more energy, but again, the direction is all wrong and it’s messy. This is strictly for the kites, not the paddlers.

Monday the 20th through to Wednesday the 22nd is more of the same: 4 ft to 5 ft of short-period, cross-offshore slop. A couple of morning sessions get labelled “marginal,” but honestly, I wouldn’t bother.

The only faint glimmer in this whole 16-day run comes on Friday the 24th of July. In the morning, the wind drops right back to a light 6 mph breeze, making for glassy conditions. The swell is a measly 4 ft from the east, period is short at 7 seconds, and energy is low – it’s “surfable but very ordinary.” But that light wind and clean surface is the closest we get to a redeeming moment. Don’t expect anything special though. The afternoon turns into a choppy cross-onshore mess.

From Saturday the 25th right through to the end of the outlook on Thursday the 30th, it’s a write-off. Winds swing more cross-shore, the swell stays small and weak, and the wave comments are all “poor.” There’s a run of days from the 25th evening right through to the 30th where you’d just be wasting your time.

So, to sum it up: Honestly, I can’t recommend a single standout session in this entire period. The best you’ll get is a brief, clean, tiny wave on the morning of the 24th of July, but that’s scraping the barrel. For the rest of it, the trades have the place locked down. Hang up the board for a couple of weeks, or go find a lake.

Rusty.

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