Playa do Carreiro Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Playa do Carreiro over the next couple of weeks.

To be straight with you, the first few days are a bit of a write-off. We’ve got tiny waves and messy wind. Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd are flat and poor. Monday the 3rd sees a little bump in size to about 4ft, but a strong cross-onshore wind turns it to chop, so it’s not worth paddling out for. The combined energy is moderate at best (191 on Monday morning), but the quality just isn’t there.

The first real glimmer of hope comes on Wednesday morning, the 5th of August. It’s only small, around 2ft from the W, but the wind swings to a light cross-offshore from the NNW, cleaning things up nicely. The water temp is sitting at 67°, which is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual. The energy is weak (96), but the conditions are clean. It’s barely a surf, but it’s the first decent window.

Then, Thursday the 6th of August is the standout of the whole forecast. The morning session is where it’s at. We’ve got a 3ft swell from the NNW, with a period of 9 seconds, and a clean cross-offshore breeze from the N. The combined energy bumps up to 214 (moderate), and the forecast says “expect good surf conditions”. This is the best on offer. The break is a river mouth, so it can handle a bit of direction, and the offshore wind will make it glassy. Expect a few other surfers around though, as crowds here are sometimes an issue.

After that, the swell drops right off again. The 7th has a tiny glassy spell in the afternoon, but it’s hardly worth a mention. The 8th through the 10th are poor, with small, weak waves and onshore or cross-shore winds. The combined energy is mostly below 100, just weak.

The 11th of August offers a small window of hope. Tuesday morning is glassy, with a 2ft, 10-second W swell. The energy is still weak (96), but the clean conditions make it surfable. It’s very ordinary, but if you’re desperate, you can get a few.

The 12th and 13th are a mixed bag of small, cross-shore conditions. The 13th morning has a clean 3ft from the W, but it’s nothing special.

Then, on the 15th of August, we see a bit of a pulse. The swell jumps to about 5ft from the NNW on Saturday morning, but the period is a short 6 seconds, which is just windswell. The energy is moderate (203), but the wind is light cross-onshore. It’s marginal. Saturday afternoon jumps to 7ft, but it’s onshore and messy. The 16th sees it drop back to 3ft with onshore wind. None of this is worth chasing.

Overall, the only window you really want to aim for is Thursday morning, the 6th of August. It’s the cleanest, most energetic swell of the whole run. The rest is a lot of waiting and watching the horizon.

Rusty, signing off.

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