Ribanceira Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Ribanceira over the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a slow start before the good stuff starts to show up.

It’s going to be a quiet opening to the period. There’s no real surf worth paddling out for from Saturday the 29th through until Monday afternoon the 31st of August. The swell is tiny – barely reaching 1 ft to 5 ft when it does pick up – and when it does, the wind is messy and the conditions are just poor. We’re talking a gap of nearly three days of nothing worthwhile. You’d be better off cleaning your wax.

Tuesday the 1st of September isn’t much better in the morning with a weak 3 ft swell from the ESE and a moderate offshore wind, but it is at least surfable. The real story starts to build on Tuesday afternoon. A solid 12 ft SSW swell rolls in with a fresh offshore wind. The energy jumps to a strong 1651 (moderate to strong combined swell energy). It’s big and powerful, but for experienced surfers only. A couple of things to note, though: with a period of 9 seconds, it won’t have that long-period punch, but the offshore wind will keep it clean. The next day, Wednesday the 2nd, is the standout. We get a clean 10 ft S swell at 10 seconds in the morning. It’s glassy with a light offshore breeze, making for excellent conditions for experienced surfers, and the energy is very strong (3378). This is your session if you’ve got the skill and the board for it.

Later on Wednesday afternoon, the swell drops a touch to 8 ft from the SSE, still clean with a cross-off breeze (energy 2429). It’s a good option for the crew who want a slightly less heavy wave, but still powerful.

From Thursday the 3rd, we see the swell drop right back through Thursday and Friday, with messy or onshore winds. Small, weak waves with poor conditions for the most part. The energy plummets.

There’s a little blip on Saturday the 5th morning with a tiny 3 ft glassy NE swell, but it’s short period (5 seconds) and weak (99). Barely a wave. Then the forecast gets messy again until Monday the 7th, where big, powerful SW groundswell arrives (3,222 and 3,726 energy), but it’s ruined by strong onshore winds and heavy chop. That’s a miss for surf. Honestly, that day looks more like a kiteboarding session than a surfing one.

The surf picks up again on Tuesday the 8th of September. A clean 6 ft S swell at 12 seconds arrives with a light cross-off breeze, giving moderate wave energy (1004) and very good surf conditions. The offshore wind on Wednesday the 9th will keep the 8 ft SSE swell clean and lined up at 12 seconds, with strong energy (1938). Both these days are solid, quality options. After that, the swell fades into a small run of SSE groundswells that look average—with onshore winds, lack of energy, and less-than-ideal conditions through to the end of the run on the 13th.

So, in terms of the one or two standout days: Wednesday the 2nd of September morning at Ribanceira is the jewel – a big, clean, powerful swell with perfect offshore wind. For a slightly smaller, still excellent session, aim for Wednesday the 9th of September morning, where the 8 ft SSE swell at 12 seconds and an offshore breeze will give you proper, lined-up waves. Remember, that first week is all about waiting for the 2nd and the 9th.

Rusty out.

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