Santa Maria de Oia Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. We’ve got a bit of a slow burn coming up for Santa Maria de Oia, with a real standout session right at the start for the experienced crew, then a long, drawn-out quiet spell before a few pulses of energy pop up again further out.

The action kicks off Friday the 28th of August with a solid, muscular swell. Friday morning is the clear highlight of the whole outlook. We’re looking at a strong 7ft groundswell thumping in from the WNW, with a period of 11 seconds and plenty of power behind it. The wind is light from the south, holding as a cross-offshore breeze, so the lines should be clean and well-groomed. This is proper, powerful reef surfing for advanced surfers only — it’s got heaps of grunt. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing wild there. Get amongst it Friday morning if you’ve got the chops.

Friday afternoon the swell nudges up to 8ft, but the wind goes cross and conditions get a bit trickier, more marginal at this stage.

Saturday the 29th drops right off to 5ft with a shorter 8-second period. It’s clean enough with light cross-off winds both morning and afternoon, but it’s low on energy. A very ordinary, small option.

From Sunday the 30th right through to Thursday the 3rd of September, it’s pretty grim. Swells stay small or drop away entirely, and the wind turns onshore or cross-onshore, making a mess of things. No scores worth chasing there.

Friday the 4th of September is flat and useless — 1ft to 2ft with nothing behind it.

Now, there’s a flicker of hope around Saturday the 5th of September. A clean 5ft NW groundswell rolls in with a long 12-second period, and there’s moderate energy behind it. Morning winds are light and variable from the NE, giving cross conditions with barely a ripple. This is a decent Saturday morning option, but those long-period NW swells can be a bit straight at some reefs. Worth a look, but not a standout.

Sunday the 6th of September keeps a clean 4ft NW swell (11 seconds) with a light south cross-off in the morning. Solid, but average.

After that, it goes quiet again. A glassy 3ft morning on the 7th is surfable but ordinary, and then the coast basically shuts down through to the 12th of September with tiny, weak, mostly messy surf. By the 12th we see a 4ft W groundswell (10 seconds) with a light NE cross, but it’s only marginal.

So, if you’re chasing the best, Friday the 28th of August morning is the one. After that, it’s a long wait. Saturday the 5th of September morning is the next best shot — decent, but not epic.

Rusty.

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