Playa do Carreiro Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s look at the surf ahead for Playa do Carreiro. It’s a river mouth setup, and this stretch of days is a real mixed bag. There’s a slow start, then a decent pulse, a lull, and then a big, powerful finish that’s got my attention.

The first few days are pretty bleak. Friday the 11th has a bit of swell, around 2ft to 3ft, but the wind is all over it with a cross-offshore breeze, and honestly, it’s just poor. Not worth paddling out for. Saturday the 12th is smaller, with 2ft waves, and while the morning is clean with an offshore wind, it’s just too weak and ordinary to get excited about.

The first real standout comes Sunday morning, the 13th. The swell jumps to 4ft from the NW with a nice 12 second period. The water temp is 65°, which is right around average for this time of year. The energy is moderate (532), and the wind is light and cross-offshore. Expect very good surf conditions. This is the pick of the first week. The afternoon holds up okay but the wind kicks a bit more.

Monday the 14th has a glassy morning with 3ft waves, but it’s small and a bit inconsistent. Tuesday the 15th is small and weak, with the afternoon getting blown out by a fresh breeze. Wednesday the 16th sees the swell jump to 6ft, but it’s a short-period, wind-affected mess and the wind is up to 35 km/h. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, to be honest.

The next window opens up on Thursday morning, the 17th. We get a solid 5ft of NW swell with a 10 second period, and the wind goes offshore and light. Energy is strong (508). This is the second standout of the period – clean, decent size, and the river mouth should handle it well. The afternoon gets a bit wind-affected. Friday the 18th is smaller, around 3ft, but clean in the morning.

The weekend of the 19th and 20th is back to small and mediocre, with the wind turning cross-on. The waves are there, 3ft to 4ft, but the quality drops off. Not a great time for a paddle.

Now, looking further out. Monday the 21st is poor, with rain and a cross-onshore wind. But the ocean is starting to wake up. The big one is looming.

The real standout of the entire forecast is Tuesday morning, the 22nd of September. The swell is a solid 5ft from the NW, with a strong energy reading of 711, and the wind is offshore and light. Expect very good surf conditions. This is a proper session. The afternoon gets a little crossed up.

After that, we get a bit of a lull with smaller surf on the 23rd, but it’s building again. Thursday the 24th has 5ft to 5ft but the wind is up. Then comes Friday the 25th. This is the biggest pulse of the period – 8ft of NW swell with a long 14 second period. The energy is very strong (2050). The problem is it’s big, and with a strong cross-offshore wind, it’s going to be a heavy, powerful day. It’s over the 8ft mark on the sets, so this is strictly for experts. The river mouth might get a bit crazy. It will be a sight to see, but it’s a beast of a day.

Saturday the 26th sees it drop back to 5ft, but the wind is howling again. That long period groundswell on the 25th is the biggest of the window, but with that wind, the quality takes a hit. The Tuesday the 22nd is the cleanest, most workable day of the whole lot. Mark that one down.

So, in a nutshell: forget this weekend and early next week. Get on the Sunday morning the 13th if you can, and for sure the Thursday the 17th. But the big one, the one to plan around, is Tuesday the 22nd. It’s going to be good.

Rusty out.

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