Praia da Foz Cabo Espichel Sesimbra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m looking at the charts for the next couple of weeks, and honestly, I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch ahead for Praia da Foz Cabo Espichel Sesimbra. This is a reef set-up, exposed to the west, which is where we want the swell, but the wind just won’t play ball.

The whole 16-day window is a bit of a write-off for clean, quality waves. We’ve got a solid run of poor surf conditions from the start through to the very end. The water temp is sitting at 67°, which is about 2° cooler than usual for this time of year – nothing to write home about, just a touch on the fresh side.

We kick off on Monday, August 3rd, with a tiny 2ft west swell, but it’s got a light cross-onshore breeze messing it up. The energy is weak (51), and it’s just not gonna happen. That pattern holds through Tuesday and into Wednesday the 5th, with the swell bumping up slightly but the wind stays cross-onshore, keeping things messy.

Thursday the 6th sees a bit more size, with 4ft to 5ft of northwest swell, but the wind is pumping at 22 mph from the same direction – fresh cross-onshore, lumpy, and ultimately poor. The energy is moderate (187 in the afternoon), but with that wind, it’s a lost cause.

We get a slight reprieve on the morning of Sunday the 9th, but it’s only 1ft. The mornings of the 10th and 11th offer a little hope with gentler winds, but the swell either stays small or the period jumps up to 11 seconds on the 11th, which would make it a groundswell. That longer period can be tricky on a reef if the direction isn’t perfect, and with the cross-onshore wind, it’s still not clean.

The only real standout in this whole forecast comes on Monday, August 17th. The morning shows 4ft of northwest swell with a light breeze – that’s about as good as it gets here during this period. The energy is strong (220). But don’t get too excited, because the afternoon kicks back into a fresh cross-onshore gale at 22 mph, and the quality tanks. By Tuesday the 18th, we’ve got 6ft of swell, but the wind is howling at 25 mph from the northwest, making it a strong, messy, cross-onshore situation. That one’s more for the kite crew than us paddle surfers.

So, in short, there’s no true standout session. The best bet would be the morning of the 17th. If you’re desperate, you could try the 11th in the morning, but with that long period groundswell, it’ll be inconsistent and the wind is just light cross-onshore, not clean. The rest of the time, it’s a solid run of onshore slop. It’s a blank run, plain and simple. Forecasts can change, but right now, I’d save the wax.

Rusty.

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