Porto da Cruz Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it's Rusty here with a look at the local surf scene. I’ve been staring at the charts for Porto da Cruz and to be honest, this is one of those long-range forecasts that starts with a tiny whimper and then just gets messy. There’s a bit of a run of small, clean waves right out of the gate, but after that, this north coast reef is gonna get thumped by the wind.

The combined swell energy kicks off at a moderate 213 near dawn on Sunday the 5th of July, dropping to a glassy 179 in the afternoon. The water temp is sitting around 71°, with an anomaly of just 0.5°, so it's feeling pretty average for this time of year.

The only time we have anything worth sliding into is this Sunday. That morning, Porto da Cruz is seeing a small 3ft NNE groundswell sneaking in at 8 seconds, but the southerly air is keeping it cross-off. Then, Sunday afternoon is the real window. The wind switches to a glassy 3 mph NE breeze, which will smooth out the reef. With wave heights still around 3ft from the NNE, it’ll be tiny and clean. The energy is moderate at 179. It’s beginner-friendly, but this is a reef set-up and it breaks inconsistently, so keep your wits about you. Crowds are likely here.

Come Monday the 6th, it’s even smaller – 2ft in the morning with absolute calm conditions and glassy water, but the energy is already dropping to a weaker 104. These two days are the best you’re gonna get.

From Tuesday the 7th onwards, we hit a real sour patch. The surf doesn’t really recover for the entire 16-day window. For the next week straight, we’re looking at a mix of poor conditions and tiny swell. The winds swing hard onshore from the north and northwest, and the combined energy drops off a cliff into the low double digits.

There is a pulse of swell that arrives around the 17th of July, with the swell building to 6ft from the NE on Friday the 17th and peaking at 7ft on Saturday the 18th. The combined energy jumps to a strong 508, but it’s a total mess. The wind is either onshore or cross-onshore, creating a chop that makes it a write-off for paddle surfing. With that northeast swell direction and a strong cross-onshore wind, this setup looks way more interesting for kite surfing than a traditional paddle session. These waves are for experts only due to the size, but they won’t be clean.

So, bottom line: get out there on Sunday the 5th or Monday the 6th of July for the best glassy, small waves of the window. After that, it’s a long stretch of wind-affected junk.

- Rusty

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