Praia das Macas Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for the Praia das Macas region over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch. The first week is pretty much a write-off for decent surf. The swell shows up but the wind is just shocking. We’ve got a consistent westerly and north-northwesterly wind direction that’s blowing cross-on or onshore for days on end, lumping everything up. From Wednesday the 26th of August right through to the end of the month, it’s a mess. The waves are there, sometimes pushing 7 ft on Thursday the 27th, but with 19 mph winds onto it, it’s just blown-out slop. The combined wave energy gets up there, hitting 497 (moderate) and even 1042 (strong) on Friday the 28th, but with the wind, that energy is wasted. You’d be fighting a losing battle.

That run of poor conditions stretches into the first week of September too. The wind stays cranking out of the north, mostly 19-25 mph, keeping everything cross-onshore and choppy. On Tuesday the 1st of September, we see 7 ft at 9 seconds from the NNW, but with a strong breeze at 25 mph, it’s messy and not worth paddling out.

We do get a tiny glimmer of hope on Monday the 7th of September. The morning shows a solid 4 ft groundswell from the NW, with a period of 14 seconds – that's a proper long-period groundswell. This means more energy and shape from the swell, but it's tricky at a beach break like this. That long period can make it wall up and break straight. Still, the wind is only 9 mph and cross-shore, making for the cleanest conditions we’ll see in the whole 16-day window. The combined swell energy is a massive 1116 (strong). It’s rated as marginal due to tide, but this is the standout morning, and it’s still a week and a half away, so treat it as promising but not locked in. If you had to pick one session, this is it.

After that, it drops back into a familiar pattern of onshore winds and lumpy surf until the very end of the forecast period.

The water temperature is sitting at a pretty average 68°F, which is normal for this time of year.

So, the long story short: there are no clear, clean winners here. We’ve got a massive gap of unusable surf for the first ten days, and just that one Monday morning that’s worth a look. Don’t hold your breath for this stretch.

Rusty.

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