Porto Batel Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what we've got lined up for Porto Batel over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, I'm looking straight down the barrel of a long, frustrating run of nothing. For the first several days, from Thursday the 23rd right through to the end of July, the surf is just not happening. It’s clean for sure, but the energy is pathetic: directional energy values barely cracking 60, with a jumbled NW groundswell around 2 ft to 3 ft and a short period around 6-7 seconds. The wind is mostly cross-off or cross, but with the swell hardly showing up, it’s a flat, oily ocean with no power. There’s a small spike of combined energy (445) on Sunday the 26th morning with a 7 ft swell from the NNW, but it comes with a fresh 19 mph cross-off breeze that is going to hold you in the lineup rather than groom the face. It's still a no-go for a fun session.

The first real chink of light comes on Monday the 27th morning. That's the standout of the whole outlook, but even then, it's modest. Expect a 5 ft swell from the NNW with an 8-second period and a solid combined energy of 328, and the wind... it's glassy. Absolute glass. Clean, smooth faces. This is the best session on offer. Water temp is sitting at a typical 69°, nothing weird about that. The afternoon falls apart quickly as the breeze swings back cross-onshore.

After Monday, we fall back into a long run of marginal or poor conditions right through the early days of August. We’re seeing clean cross-off winds most mornings, but the swell drops right off to under 3 ft and stays tiny. The wave energy plummets; those combined energy readings hover around 50–100, and the period is short. It’s just not worth wetting a wetsuit.

There is a glimmer in the second week, around Monday the 5th of August. By Wednesday afternoon the 6th, we see a jump: an 11-second period swell from the NNW at 6 ft and combined energy jumps to 776. That’s a real groundswell, and it’s going to have some punch. The mornings of the 6th and 7th of August look borderline: 8 ft and 8 ft swell from the NNW, strong moderate energy. But it comes with a fresh 16 mph cross-off wind, so faces will be clean but there’s gonna be some bump from the breeze. It's also getting into the size range where the lineup will be heavy; good for a confident intermediate, not a learner. The crowd factor is listed as "sometimes" busy, so expect company for those cleaner sets. If that long-period NNW groundswell lines up right, Porto Batel’s point could be running nicely, but the cross-off wind will be a factor.

So, to cut it short: the only real highlight is Monday morning, July 27th. Clean glass and head-high waves. If you’re desperate, the second week (August 5th-7th) has more size and grunt, but it's less certain and windier. Everything else is a flat spell you’re better off using to fix your dings.

- Rusty

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