Porto da Cruz Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. Rusty here, and I’ll tell you straight up—this forecast for Porto da Cruz is a tough one.

Right from the get-go, from Wednesday the 19th of August, we’ve got swell on the cards, but the wind is just not playing ball. We’re looking at a 4ft swell from the NNE with a short 8-second period and cross-shore winds, which is giving us poor surf conditions. The combined swell energy is moderate (202), but the wind and the short period are killing any real quality. This pattern keeps up through the rest of the week and into the weekend. It’s a bit of a bummer, honestly.

The wind stays cross-on or cross-shore, mostly from the north, with swell sizes hovering between 3ft and 5ft. The period is short to moderate. By Saturday the 22nd, there’s a glimmer—Saturday afternoon sees the swell bump to 4ft from the north with a 10-second period and a light cross-shore breeze. The energy jumps to 379, but the forecast still calls it marginal. It’s not enough to get excited about.

Sunday the 23rd through Tuesday the 27th is more of the same: small swell, mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds, and short periods. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no shock there.

Now, there’s a run from Wednesday the 26th into Thursday the 27th where the swell drops right off, with the combined energy falling to 72 and 54—that’s weak. A real flat spell.

Things start to look more interesting around Friday the 28th of August. We get a 5ft swell from the NNW with a long 12-second period. The combined energy jumps up to 896, which is solid, strong wave energy. But again, the wind is cross-on and moderate, which will put a chop on it. Still, this is one of the better windows if you can handle a bit of bump.

The real standout, and the one that might be worth circling on the calendar, is Tuesday the 1st of September. Porto da Cruz sees a 7ft swell from the north, with a very long 13-second period. The combined energy is a massive 1568—that’s strong to very strong energy. The wind is light and cross-on from the east. This is a powerful groundswell, and for a reef break like this, those long-period swells can line up beautifully. However, at 7ft, this is getting into the expert-only territory for this spot. The period over 15 seconds is considered very long, and while it’s 13 seconds, it’s still a long-period groundswell that will have plenty of punch and longer lulls between sets. The catch? The wind is cross-on, so it won’t be glassy, but it’s light, so it should be manageable. Wednesday the 2nd still has some decent leftover energy in the 5ft range with a 12-second period and light cross-on winds (energy 956), so there’s a couple of days there with potential.

Honestly, for the next week and a half, the surf quality is poor to marginal at best. The winds are never truly offshore, and the period is often short. The break is fairly consistent, but it’s not often breaking well in this stretch. For a reef break like Porto da Cruz, the optimum swell direction is from the north, and we do get some north and NNW swells, but the wind direction is almost always fighting us.

If you’re a beginner, stay away from that 7ft day on the 1st of September. For the rest of it, it’s mostly small and choppy.

Rusty.

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