Praia Cardoso Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming our way for Praia Cardoso.

Overall, it’s a bit of a slow start. We’ve got a good few days of messy, onshore wind and lumpy seas before the pattern cleans up. There’s a standout window mid-period, and then a promising but less certain pulse right at the end of the 16-day run.

The first few days are a write-off. Sunday and Monday the wind is swinging onshore or cross-shore, gusting hard, and the surf is a mess. Not worth paddling out. We’re looking at a gap of about two days before things get interesting.

Tuesday, the 14th, is where it finally turns on. Morning brings a clean, light offshore breeze from the north at 3 mph. Swell is a solid 7 ft from the southeast, with a period of 10 seconds, giving it some decent push. The combined energy is moderate to strong (875). This is the standout for the whole period – clean, glassy conditions and a proper swell. The water temperature is about average for the time of year. Praia Cardoso is a fairly consistent spot, so this is a good bet. Expect some crowd presence, as it gets busy when it’s good.

The afternoon on Tuesday sees the wind pick up to a moderate cross-offshore breeze, but the swell holds at 7 ft. The energy is strong (1061). It’s still surfable, but the morning is the pick.

Wednesday and Thursday drop off a bit in size, with the swell easing down to 5 ft and then 4 ft. The wind stays cross-offshore, so it’s clean, but the energy is much lower. Friday morning is small and clean, but the real highlight is Friday afternoon on the 17th. The wind goes glassy, with a light southeast breeze, and the swell is tiny at 3 ft. It’s surfable but very ordinary – just a little fun wave if you’re desperate.

Then we hit a big, flat spell. From Saturday the 18th right through to Thursday the 23rd, the swell drops to nothing – 1.0 ft, 0.6 ft. Just tiny, weak pulses. The combined energy is down in the double digits, mostly under 50. That’s a full seven days of hardly anything. The wind is clean, but there’s no wave to ride.

The next window of interest arrives on Friday, the 24th. It’s still small and a bit junky in the morning, but by the afternoon we get a pulse of 6 ft swell from the south. The period is short (6 seconds) and the wind is cross-onshore, so it’s not great – marginal at best.

But then, Saturday the 25th morning is a serious contender. Swell jumps to 7 ft from the south, with a long period of 12 seconds. That’s proper groundswell energy. The combined energy is very strong (1287). The wind is a light cross-offshore breeze from the north-northeast at 9 mph, keeping it clean. This is big enough that it’s really for experienced surfers only – over 8 ft gets too heavy for beginners. The 7 ft is at the upper end of intermediate. The long period (12 seconds) means it’s a powerful, lined-up swell, best at a point or reef, but here at an exposed beach break it might be a bit straight. Still, this is your second standout.

The afternoon on the 25th holds size at 7 ft, but the wind swings cross-shore, so it’s a bit less clean. The 26th and 27th see the swell drop back down and the wind goes onshore again, finishing the run on a so-so note.

So, the two windows to aim for: Tuesday morning, the 14th, for clean, fun, mid-size waves, and Saturday morning, the 25th, for a bigger, more powerful groundswell that’s for the experienced crew.

Rusty, signing off.

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