Praia dos Artistas Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. I’ve had a look at the next 16 days for this stretch of coast, and I’ve got to be straight with you – it’s a tough watch. The forecast is a long run of poor surf conditions, and the finder is coming up empty. There’s just no good surf on offer in this entire window.

Let’s talk about what’s going on. The wave energy is mostly weak to moderate, with the combined swell energy reading a low 159 on Thursday morning, 6 August, and it only climbs into the moderate range as the days go by. But the trouble is the wind. We’ve got a persistent cross-onshore wind from the southeast, blowing at 12 to 16 mph, which is just chopping everything up. It’s a real shame because there’s a consistent swell source, but the wind is ruining the surface.

The water temperature is sitting at 80°F with an anomaly of just 0.7°F, so it’s about average for this time of year. You won’t need a thick suit, but you’ll be battling the mess.

There is a bit of a tease right at the end. On the morning of Saturday, 15 August, and into Sunday, 16 August, the swell period jumps up to 10-14 seconds, and the combined energy spikes to 545 (Sunday morning). That’s a proper groundswell building. But the catch? The wind is still cross-onshore from the southeast at 9-12 mph, keeping it choppy. The swell direction is coming from the ESE, which is not the optimum direction for this spot – it’s exposed to the NE. Those longer-period swells need a better angle and cleaner wind to make the break work, and unfortunately, we’ve got neither.

For the whole 16 days, there’s not a single window where the stars align. The swell is there, but the quality is just not there. It’s a blank run, and for this area, that’s not unusual when the wind sets in from the wrong direction. We’ll just have to wait for the forecasts to change.

Rusty, signing off.

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