Tabinha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve gotta start with the honest truth: this 16-day window for Tabinha is a tough one. There’s no real stand-out swell to get excited about, and the consistency is lacking. The opening days of the period are flat overall, with the first real chance of anything surfable not showing up until Monday, July 6th. Even then, it’s not a full green light; we’re looking at a few mornings with clean-ish conditions, but the wave quality is continuously described as poor or marginal. Between those flickers of hope, there are long gaps of several days where the energy is just too weak and the wind is messy. The combined swell energy values are mostly under 200 (moderate at best, often weak), with the highest reading on the morning of Wednesday, July 8th at 332, but that’s paired with cross-shore winds and a risk of thunderstorms. The water temperature at Tabinha is sitting at 82°, which is about average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

The best chance to wet a line comes on Monday morning, July 6th. The swell is 4 ft from the E, with a short period of 6 seconds, and the wind is SE at 20 km/h, giving us a clean, cross-off breeze. The combined energy hits 227, which is the standout for the whole period. It’s a small, short-period swell, so it’s not going to be a barrel-fest, and the break is exposed to the NE while the swell is coming from the E, so it’s not a perfect alignment. Still, this is the cleanest window we’ve got.

Tuesday morning, July 7th, offers a repeat: 4 ft from the E, 7-second period, clean cross-off wind from the SE at 20 km/h, with energy at 179. It’s a similar story, and given the lack of quality elsewhere, it’s worth chasing if you’re desperate for a paddle.

Beyond that, it’s a grind. The afternoons are consistently ruined by cross-shore winds and a chop, and the morning sessions from July 8th onward are plagued by cross or cross-off winds with poor surf conditions. The energy drops off significantly, with values falling below 100 by July 15th, meaning the wave power is weak. The final week is a write-off, with swell heights dropping to 3 ft to 3 ft and periods stuck at 6 seconds. The only saving grace is the morning of Saturday, July 18th, where we get a clean cross-off again, but it’s only 3 ft with energy at 95 – not enough to make a session memorable.

For a beginner, the swell is small enough to be manageable, but the short period and cross-shore chop make it sloppy and frustrating. For an expert, there’s simply nothing here to get the blood pumping. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, with that consistent cross-shore wind and shallow, weak swell.

Tabinha (Tábua) is a beach-and-reef setup, and it’s consistent but rarely offers quality in this stretch. The crowds are marked as “sometimes,” so you won’t be fighting for waves, but you’ll also be wondering why you bothered. Keep your expectations low, and maybe wait for a better forecast.

Rusty.

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