Molho Leste Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. We’re looking at a pretty grim stretch ahead for our local sandbar, Molho Leste. Honestly, the next 16 days are a real struggle. There’s a massive gap of nothing worthwhile from the start all the way through to the first week of September. It’s a long, dry spell.

The first real puff of life comes on Friday, 28 August, but it’s a total tease. We’ve got a 6ft swell from the NW, but the period is a short, weak 11 seconds, and the wind is a messy cross-shore from the NW at 9 mph. The water is sitting at 67°, which is about 1° cooler than average for this time of year—nothing too unusual, just a bit nippy. The combined energy is moderate (831), but the conditions are described as marginal, with a score that tells you it’s not worth paddling out.

Saturday morning, 29 August, is the best of a very bad bunch. The swell drops to 5ft from the NW, still a short period of 9 seconds, but the wind goes cross-offshore from the N at 9 mph, leaving the surface clean. The energy is still moderate (357). It’s the only window where you might find a few grovelly ones, but it’s inconsistent and the quality is still poor. If you’re desperate, you could have a paddle, but don’t expect much.

From Saturday afternoon, it all falls apart. The swell gets smaller and the wind, while cross-offshore, is too strong at 12-19 mph, cleaning the surface but blowing the tiny waves flat. The combined energy drops into the weak range (below 100) for most of the following week. The period on the tiny 0.3ft swell from the SW in early September is a long 15-16 seconds, but with zero energy (9), it’s just a flat ocean.

There’s a glimmer almost two weeks out. On Tuesday, 8 September, the morning shows a sudden jump to 5ft from the WNW with a 10-second period, clean cross-offshore wind from the NNE at 12 mph, and a solid moderate energy (494). It’s still rated as marginal, but that’s the best looking day in the whole run. It’s a long way off, so not a sure thing, but it’s the one to keep an eye on.

After that, it’s back to tiny, weak dribble for the rest of the forecast. Honestly, for a spot that’s inconsistent, this blank run feels pretty normal. The setup here is a sandbar, and with the wind patterns we’re seeing, it might be more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer for most of this period.

Rusty.

Read more