Pedra do Sal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s get into it. The next couple of weeks are a real mixed bag, and I’ll be straight with you—we’ve got a bit of a dry spell at the start before things get interesting. It’s not a total write-off, but you’ll need to pick your moments.

The first window isn’t looking great. We’ve got small, weak surf to kick things off. Wednesday morning at Pedra do Sal has a bit of life with a swell of 3ft from the NW, but the energy is weak at 203 and the wind, though light, isn’t doing us any favors. The water is sitting at 64°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year. It’s surfable, but you won’t be missing much if you give it a miss.

The rest of that first week and into the weekend is pretty uninspiring. We’re looking at a few days with hardly any swell, with the energy dropping right off. Thursday’s got a bit more size on the afternoon, but the period is short and it’s choppy with a moderate cross-onshore wind. Friday through Sunday is just small and messy. There’s a clean 1ft glassy wave on Saturday morning, but it’s tiny. We're looking at a 3-4 day gap with no real recommendations here, so don't hold your breath.

Things start to stir again on Monday the 10th. The swell direction swings around to the NNW, and the energy jumps up to 310 with a 12-second period. That’s the first sign of proper groundswell, but the morning is still a bit lumpy and the afternoon gets chopped up by a moderate breeze. Not quite there yet.

Tuesday the 11th has a glassy morning with a 3ft NNW swell, but the energy is only moderate (192). It’s clean, but pretty average. The standout in this first part of the year is shaping up to be Wednesday morning, the 12th. That’s when things line up properly. We’ve got a clean, glassy 3ft W swell with a 10-second period and moderate energy at 227. This is our best bet for the first week, great conditions and a fun-sized wave. That’s the one to circle.

After that, it sorts itself out a bit, but nothing special until the weekend and the following week. The swell sticks around, but we get plagued by cross-onshore winds for most of it. Sunday the 16th has a glassy 4ft NW swell again, but the period is short (7 seconds) which makes it a bit crumbly.

Looking further out, the 18th and 19th have some size, with the swell pushing up to 5ft, and there’s some strong energy in the water on the 19th afternoon (462). But those days are blown out by moderate to fresh cross-onshore winds, so it’s going to be a messy, bumpy ocean. This setup, with the increased swell and strong wind, looks like it might be more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers honestly. It’s too far out to get stoked on, but it’s promising that there’s more juice on the horizon. Just keep in mind that these long-range calls are a bit less certain, so we’ll see how it develops.

Bottom line: It’s not a classic fortnight. The early days are a total wash, and there’s a big gap with no recommendations. But if you’re keen, Wednesday morning the 12th is your best bet. It won’t be big, but it’ll be clean.

Rusty.

Read more