Praia das Macas Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Honestly, mate, it’s a tough stretch. We’ve got some size showing up now and then, but the wind just won’t play nice. The whole 16-day window is a bit of a write-off for a decent paddle session. There’s not one standout day where everything clicks. The swell energy bumps up a few times, but it’s almost always paired with a cross-onshore wind that chops things up. For a break that’s exposed to the NW, we get some swell, but the wind is coming from the NW or NNW for most of it, which is just messy.

Let’s run through it. We kick off on Saturday the 4th of July. The morning actually looks glassy with a clean 3 ft swell from the NNW at 8 seconds. The combined energy is moderate at 235, so there’s some push. But that clear, glassy window is tiny. By afternoon the wind swings to a 6 mph cross-on and the quality drops straight away.

From Sunday the 5th all the way through to Saturday the 11th of July, it’s a dead zone. Tiny swell, mostly under 2 ft, and the wind is either cross or cross-onshore. The combined energy barely cracks 100 most of the time. There’s nothing to get excited about.

Now, around Sunday the 12th of July, the swell does kick up. We’re looking at a 6 ft from the NW with a period of 9 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 528. That’s a strong pulse. But here’s the problem – the wind is howling from the N at 28 mph, solid cross-onshore. That’s not surfable; that’s a kiteboarding day. Same story on Monday the 13th with a 4 ft swell but still a strong, messy cross-onshore.

The rest of the second week is more of the same. The swell stays modest, around 2 ft to 5 ft, but the wind never lets up. It’s always cross-onshore, from the NNW or NW, and mostly fresh to strong breeze. Even on the 19th of July, when the swell hits 5 ft and the combined energy is strong at 474, the wind is still a 9 mph cross-on from the NNW. Close, but no cigar.

So, bottom line: no good surf options in the 16-day window. Praia das Macas is a consistent break, but when the wind is this persistently wrong, you just have to wait for the next pattern shift. It tends not to stay this poor for long, and forecasts can change, but right now, I’d leave the board in the car.

Rusty.

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