Portao Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you about what’s on the table over the next couple of weeks at Portao. The data covers from Wednesday, September 2nd through Thursday, September 17th. I have to tell you, the outlook is pretty grim. This break is very consistent, but that doesn't mean much when everything else is working against it.

From the very first day right through to the end of the period, the surf is just not cooperating. The swell is coming in from a poor direction for this reef/pier setup. It’s mostly out of the E and ENE, but this spot needs it from the N to really shine. The period is short, barely hitting 7 seconds at its best, which means weak, disorganised, windswell-style waves. The combined wave energy is moderate, but it’s all ugly.

The wind is the real killer here. For most of the week, it’s blowing cross or cross-onshore from the ESE or E at 12 to 15 mph, whipping up a messy cross-chop. A few mornings offer a bit of a cross-offshore wind from the SE, and those are the cleaner windows, but the swell quality is still terrible. The water temperature is normal for this time of year, so that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.

Honestly, there isn’t a single standout day. The best of a bad bunch are the mornings of September 10, 11, and 13, when the SE wind goes cross-off, cleaning up the 6 ft swell from the east. But even then, the period is weak, the direction is wrong, and the wave comment says “poor surf conditions” with a score of 0. That’s not a recommendation; that’s a warning.

This is a long stretch of nothing. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, because the wind and the chop are just not going to give you anything clean to ride on a surfboard. Don’t bother paddling out; the forecasts might change, but right now, there’s nothing doing.

Rusty.

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