Praia Cardoso Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a good hard look at what’s on the menu for Praia Cardoso over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, the week ahead is a bit of a mixed bag. Small, inconsistent southerly swell is the story, with a few clean windows but nothing that’s going to get the heart racing. The real standout, the one you’ve got to circle on the calendar, is further out, but we’ll get to that.

We start things off on Saturday, July 25th. The morning’s a real tease – 5ft of SE swell, but at only 8 seconds, it's a weak, short period affair. The wind is glassy from the NW though (3 mph), so the surface will be perfect. The water is sitting at 65°F, bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there. There's hardly any energy behind it (347), so it'll be small and a bit weak, but absolutely clean for a beginner session. By the afternoon, the swell drops to 3ft from the S, but the period jumps to 12 seconds (577 energy). Better shape, but the wind swings onshore E at 6 mph, putting a little crinkle on the face.

Sunday the 26th is more of the same. Morning sees 3ft of S swell (390 energy) with a clean 12-second period. Wind is cross-offshore from the NNE at 9 mph, so it’ll be peeling nicely. The afternoon drops to 3ft with a similar look, but the breeze picks up a bit. Monday the 27th offers a glassy morning again (WSW 3 mph) on 2ft S swell (216 energy), but it fades hard from there.

Tuesday through Thursday, that’s the dead zone. Swell drops to a dribble – under 2ft with weak energy (100-124), and the wind is funky, mostly cross or onshore. Not worth paddling out for. Friday the 31st sees a pulse of 4ft S swell (366 energy) but it’s accompanied by a moderate cross-shore breeze from the ENE at 9-12 mph and poor conditions. Skip it.

Now, here’s the good news. The first weekend of August shows some real promise. Sunday, August 2nd, the afternoon sneaks in a glassy little pulse: 3ft of S swell but with a lovely long 13-second period (372 energy). Wind goes glassy from the ESE at 3 mph. That’s a clean, lined-up wave for the experienced crew.

But the standout, the one you need to plan for, is Tuesday, August 4th and Wednesday, August 5th. Tuesday morning sees 8ft of E swell (984 energy) with a clean cross-offshore wind from the W at just 6 mph. That’s a solid, powerful wave. At 8ft, it’s pushing into expert territory, so only experienced paddlers should be out there. Wednesday morning holds 7ft of E swell (683 energy) with offshore winds from the NW at only 3 mph – glassy, clean, and powerful. Both these days the swell direction (E) matches the optimum swell direction for the break (S from the guidance? Wait, guidance says optimum is S, but the incoming swell is E. That's a mismatch. However, that E swell is the biggest, cleanest energy we see in the whole window, and with that wind, the quality will still be there for those who know the lineup.)

After that, August 6th onward the surf completely flat-lines. Tiny, wind-affected junk with almost no energy (2-5). Not worth a look.

So overall, it’s a quiet start, a flat midweek, and then one standout nuke of E groundswell in the first few days of August. If you’re a confident surfer, save your energy for that Tuesday and Wednesday.

Rusty.

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