Porto da Cruz Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. I’ve had a proper look at what’s on the table for Porto da Cruz over the next couple of weeks, and I’ve got to be straight with you—it’s going to be a tough run. This is a reef set-up that’s fairly exposed to the north, but the whole 16-day window is filled with nothing but poor surf conditions. There’s no standout session, no hidden gem, just a long stretch of choppy, cross-onshore junk.

Let’s start at the beginning. From Monday the 10th of August through to the end of the window, the story is the same: the swell is tiny, the wind is a problem, and the wave comment doesn’t sugar-coat it. The first few days—Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th—bring tiny swell around 1 ft to 3 ft from the north or north-northwest, with periods mostly around 8 seconds. The wind is a light to gentle cross-onshore, which just messes up what little wave there is. The combined energy is weak, sitting between 56 and 94, and the water temperature is about 77°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s small comfort when there’s nothing to surf.

Moving into the middle of the week, Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th, the swell stays pathetic—1 ft to 3 ft—with periods dropping to 5 or 6 seconds at times. The wind holds steady from the north or north-northeast at 9 mph, cross-onshore and choppy. Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th see the swell bump up a little, hitting 4 ft to 4 ft from the northeast, period still short at 6 seconds. The combined energy climbs into the moderate range (147 to 204), but the wind stiffens to a moderate breeze at 12 mph, cross-onshore and choppy. It’s not surfable—it’s messy, lumpy, and the reef isn’t going to save it.

Sunday the 16th of August and Monday the 17th are as close as this forecast gets to something bigger, with swell reaching 5 ft to 6 ft from the north-northeast, period stretching to 8 or 9 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 290 to 449, so there’s some power there. But every single session is written off as poor surf conditions. The wind is a moderate cross-onshore or cross-shore breeze at 9 to 12 mph, kicking up chop and cross-chop. For a reef break, this is ugly—you’re paddling into a washing machine. That said, if you’re a kite surfer, this setup with moderate wind and a bit of swell might look more interesting than it does for a paddle surfer.

Tuesday the 18th of August through to the end of the second week, things just fade away. The swell drops from 5 ft on the Tuesday morning back down to 1 ft by Sunday the 23rd. Periods are all over the place—9 seconds early on, then back to 7 or 8 seconds, with a brief 11-second pulse on Tuesday the 25th that bumps the energy to 112 to 172. But the wind never lets up—always cross-onshore or cross-shore, light to moderate, and every session is marked poor. The reef rarely gets a clean look, and with crowds listed as "often," you’d be sharing the mess with others.

There are no true standouts here. Nothing worth chasing. The whole 16-day window is one long gap of poor conditions. Porto da Cruz is a fairly consistent spot, so a blank run like this is a bit unusual, but it happens. Forecasts can change, but right now, there’s nothing to get excited about.

Stay patient, keep an eye on the charts, and I’ll catch you next time.
Rusty

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