Praia Cardoso Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. We’ve got a 16-day window for Praia Cardoso, and it starts real slow. The first good surf doesn’t show up until Monday the 31st of August, so you’re looking at a quiet start stretching from today, Friday the 28th, all the way through Sunday the 30th. That’s three days of pretty much nothing worth paddling for.

The water’s a bit colder than normal for this time of year, sitting at 63°, which is about 3° cooler than average—noticeable but not freaky.

Alright, let’s get into it. The standout window is Monday the 31st of August in the morning. Praia Cardoso picks up a solid east swell at 6 ft, 8-second period. The combined energy is pumping at 987 (moderate energy), and with a nice cross-offshore breeze from the north-northeast at 15 mph, it’ll be clean. This is the best on offer for beginners—size is manageable, and the wind is your mate.

Later that afternoon, the swell bumps up to 7 ft from the east, but the wind picks up to 16 mph from the north-northeast, still cross-off, so it stays clean but gets a bit more grunty. Still a good option if the morning session is too crowded—and yeah, crowds can happen here sometimes.

Now, Tuesday the 1st of September is a write-off. Strong south-west winds hit 25 mph, making a mess of the surf. Wednesday the 2nd looks way too big for this break—10 ft from the south with a solid 11-second period (long period groundswell) and combined energy of 2084 (strong). That’s expert territory and cross-onshore wind chops it up. Not your day.

The next real highlight comes Thursday the 3rd of September in the morning. South swell at 7 ft, 10-second period, combined energy of 855 (moderate), and a light cross-offshore wind from the west at 6 mph. Clean conditions, good shape, and just under the 8 ft mark so it’s still doable for strong intermediates. That’s the pick of the first week if you can handle a bit of size.

Friday the 4th drops right off—3 ft from the south, weak and ordinary. The whole second week looks average at best. There’s a bigger south swell coming for Monday the 7th of September morning—8 ft, 13-second very long period groundswell, combined energy of 2364 (very strong). Wind is light cross-shore, but that long period stuff at a beach break might be too straight and fast. It’s more of a reef or point setup swell, so take that as a caveat. By the afternoon, the south-south-west wind freshens to 19 mph and trashes it.

Friday the 11th of September morning brings a 10 ft east-south-east swell, 8-second period, combined energy of 1076 (strong), and clean cross-offshore wind. But that’s too big for this break—real expert-only, and honestly, the wind is fresh at 16 mph, so it’s a wild ride. The rest of that week is just big, blown-out, or weak. Nothing else worth getting excited about.

So, if you’re keen, aim for Monday the 31st of August morning or Thursday the 3rd of September morning. Everything else is either flat, messy, or for the brave.

Rusty.

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