Praia da Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are a tough watch for Praia da Barra. This sandbar set-up is a bit of a tease; it rarely breaks, and for most of the forecast, it’s just not offering anything worth paddling out for. The water’s sitting at 66°F, which is pretty much average for the time of year, so no wild surprises temperature-wise.

We’re looking at a long, dry spell from the start. From Thursday the 16th through to Friday the 24th, it’s a real struggle. Swell heights are tiny, mostly 1ft to 1ft, with weak energy (values between 18 and 78). The wind is often onshore or cross-onshore, and the wave comments are all “poor surf conditions.” Even the glassy mornings on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd can’t save it because there’s just no push. There’s a brief bump on the 20th with a combined energy of 147, but that 3ft swell is a short-period 8 seconds and the wind is messy – not a goer.

Then Saturday the 25th morning finally shows a glimmer. The swell bumps up to 5ft from the NNW, with a combined energy of 211, and it’s glassy. That’s the first real chance of the whole outlook, but it’s a short window. The afternoon gets chopped up by a 12 mph cross-onshore wind. For a beginner, that 5ft is on the edge of too big, but for an intermediate, it’s the only morning that looks clean.

The real standout, and the one to circle on the calendar, arrives on Friday the 31st of July. The morning session is the pick of the whole forecast. Praia da Barra will see a 6ft swell from the NW, with a very long period of 12 seconds and a combined energy of 958 – that’s proper groundswell. The wind is light and cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean. That 6ft is a solid size, but it’s not huge, so it’s doable for confident intermediates. The long period means the waves will have shape and power, and the gaps between sets will make paddling out easier. On the downside, a long period swell like this can break a bit straight on a sandbar, but with the light wind, it’s still easily the best on offer. The afternoon gets messy with a 16 mph cross-shore wind and the swell jumps to 8ft, which is only for the experts, and the conditions turn marginal.

The 30th of July Thursday afternoon also sees a jump in energy – 5ft NW with a 13-second period and a combined energy of 1069 – but a 22 mph cross-shore wind makes it lumpy and only marginal. Probably more interesting for kite surfing than a clean paddle session.

So, the honest truth: there’s a big gap of nine days with no real surf. The only two mornings with a chance are the 25th and the 31st, with the 31st being the clear winner. It’s a long wait, but that Friday morning could be a beauty.

Rusty.

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