Ribanceira Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and here’s the look for Ribanceira over the next couple of weeks.

We’ve got a little bit of wait on our hands, but there’s some solid action building through the end of August and into early September. The real standout here is Tuesday the 25th – that morning session is money. We’re looking at a clean, glassy 6ft south swell with a nice 12-second period. The wave energy is strong, sitting at 1100, and the only thing moving is a light northerly breeze that’s barely a whisper. It’s going to be clean and lined up. The water temp is right around average for this time of year, so no shock to the system. Just a heads up, crowds can be a thing here sometimes, so get out early.

After that Tuesday morning high, things get rough. The wind swings onshore hard from the northeast Tuesday afternoon and stays messy right through the rest of the week. Wednesday morning the 26th has a bigger 8ft swell from the SSE with a long 14-second period, and the wave energy is huge (2167), but it’s a cross-onshore wind that’s gonna chop it up. That kind of size with 14-second period will reel off fast at a beach break – better suited for experienced paddlers if it was clean, but it won’t be. Thursday and Friday are a write-off with strong onshore winds, dropping to tiny 2ft on Friday. The weekend flatlines with almost no energy, maybe a tiny glassy 1ft on Saturday morning, but it’s not worth paddling out.

We get a small window on Monday the 31st afternoon – a glassy 3ft with a light offshore wind, but the swell is short-period and weak (89 energy). It’s rideable but nothing to write home about.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting again. Tuesday the 1st of September morning brings a solid 6ft SSW swell with a moderate offshore wind. The period is only 7 seconds – short-period wind swell – but the wave energy is solid (469) and it’ll be clean. That’s a good, punchy wave for a shortboard. Wednesday the 2nd morning is another beauty: a glassy 6ft SSE swell with 10-second period and no wind at all. The wave energy is 589, and it’s gonna be clean as a whistle. That’s a contender for the best of the run.

Then there’s a gap until Friday the 4th, which is the other major standout. Bring your big-wave board. The Friday morning session shows a 8ft S swell, 9-second period, and a gentle offshore from the WSW. The wave energy is cooking at 1607. That’s a powerful, clean swell, but at over 8ft it’s expert territory only. The afternoon stays clean with a fresh offshore, but the swell drops to 6ft. Saturday the 5th morning is still a good option with a moderate 5ft south swell and offshore wind – strong enough to have fun, clean, and wave energy of 450.

After that, the second week drops off. The swell fades and the winds turn cross-onshore and onshore again. From Sunday the 6th onward, we’re looking at small, weak surf, and by the 8th and 9th, it’s barely a ripple. A long, flat gap sets in.

So to sum it up: The best bets are Tuesday the 25th morning for the clean, glassy south swell, and Friday the 4th morning for the big, clean, expert-level surf. Wednesday the 2nd morning is a solid runner-up for a clean, mid-sized day in between. The rest of the first week is either blown out or flat, and the second week fizzles out completely.

Rusty.

Read more