Ribanceira Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – this 16-day window for Ribanceira is a tough one. We’ve got a real patchy run of surf, with a lot of days where the conditions just aren’t cooperating. The first real chance to get wet comes on Friday the 24th, but after that, there’s a long stretch of poor surf until the very end of the period.

The standout is the early session on Friday, July 24th morning. Ribanceira is a sandbar setup, and it’s fairly consistent here. The swell is a solid 6 ft from the SE with a period of 9 seconds, giving a moderate wave energy of 534. The wind is coming from the WSW at just 3 mph and it’s glassy. That’s the kind of clean, smooth surface we all dream about. The water temp is sitting at 65°F, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there. This is the best on offer, no question.

Friday afternoon sees the swell dropping to 5 ft but the wind swings to a light cross-onshore, making it a bit of a downgrade.

Then we hit a long dry spell. Saturday the 25th through to Thursday the 7th of August is a real slog. The swell is mostly small, often under 3 ft, and the wind is rarely on our side. There are a few flickers of hope – like Monday the 27th morning with a tiny 2 ft swell and glassy conditions (energy of 163), and Tuesday the 28th afternoon with a clean 2 ft wave (energy of 101) – but honestly, these are just barely surfable. The swell is too weak to get excited about. The end of the first week into the second is a real blank run.

The next half-decent look comes on Saturday, August 1st morning. The swell pushes up to 5 ft from the NE, but it’s a short period of just 6 seconds. The wind is a clean cross-off from the WNW at 6 mph, so the surface will be clean. The wave energy is moderate at 302. It’s not a classic, but it’s the best we’ve seen in over a week.

Sunday, August 2nd afternoon has a glassy 2 ft S swell, but it’s a 13-second period – that’s proper groundswell, but on a sandbar it can break a bit too straight. Still, it’s clean.

The rest of the week into August 8th is more of the same: small, onshore, or choppy. The 3rd of August has a 4 ft S swell with a 13-second period and moderate-strong energy of 526, but the wind is onshore, so the quality is shot. For the experts, the energy is there, but it’s not a paddling paradise.

So, to sum it up: if you can get out Friday morning the 24th, that’s your moment. After that, it’s a waiting game. The setup here looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on many of those windy, choppy days. Keep an eye on the forecasts, but for now, it’s pretty grim.

Rusty.

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