Ponta Negra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s be straight up about it: we’re looking at Ponta Negra over the next couple of weeks, and honestly, it’s a tough stretch. There’s no standout session in the whole 16-day run. The wind is almost always from the south or southeast, putting a cross-onshore or cross chop on nearly every window, and the swell is small, short-period, and messy. The water is sitting at 81°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year – no surprises there.

The first real sniff of any surf starts Sunday, July 5th, with chest-high swell around 5 ft from the ESE, but it’s a 9-second period and the wind is cross-onshore at 9 mph. The combined swell energy is moderate (353), but the wave comment says it all: poor surf conditions. That morning and afternoon are both a write-off. The same story runs through Monday, July 6th – 4 ft from ESE, 8 seconds, cross-onshore winds at 12–16 mph. Choppy and uninviting.

Tuesday, July 7th through Thursday, July 10th, the swell drops further – between 3 ft and 4 ft, period dropping to 6–7 seconds, and the wind stays cross or cross-onshore. The combined energy dips from moderate (205) down to weak (88) and back up to moderate (196) by Friday. But every single one is marked as “poor surf conditions.” Even the rain showers on Friday the 10th don’t help.

Now, Saturday, July 11th – this one’s interesting in a way. Early morning we see a sudden jump to a 13-second period from the SE, with only 2 ft of swell, but the wind is directly onshore (12 mph from the east). The combined energy is moderate (303), but that long period on a small, onshore wind day? Not going to be pretty. The afternoon stays cross-onshore. Sunday the 12th keeps the long period (12 seconds) but again, small and cross-onshore. Not a goer.

From Monday, July 13th through the rest of the run, it’s a grind. Swell hangs around 3 ft to 5 ft, periods mostly 6–7 seconds, with a few glimpses of 12-second groundswell right at the end on July 20th. But the wind never lets up – always cross-onshore or onshore, 9 to 16 mph. The combined energy fluctuates between weak (87) and moderate (302), but every single session is classed as poor. There’s no clean, glassy morning, no pocket of offshore wind at all.

Ponta Negra itself is a consistent, exposed beginner-friendly beach break that works best on a NE swell direction. We’re getting ESE and E swells here, which is not ideal, and the winds are pretty much always out of the wrong quadrant. Crowds are often around here, but with conditions this average, it might not be as busy as usual.

In short: there’s no good surf to call out in these two weeks. The entire 16-day window is a write-off – every single session has a score of zero out of ten. The wind is the main killer, and the swell never gets good enough to overcome it. For a spot like Ponta Negra, a blank run like this is just part of the deal sometimes. Forecasts can change, but right now, I’d say leave the board at home.

Rusty.

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