The Rock-Costa Azul Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Howdy, Rusty here. Let me break down the next couple of weeks for ya. The best windows are the last few days of July and that first morning of August, then things go flat for a stretch before a big, messy pulse shows up around August 5th.

The place to look at is The Rock-Costa Azul (Costa Azul), a consistent reef break for advanced surfers. It’s goin’ off starting Saturday, July 25th. Water temp is 31° – that’s 3° warmer than normal for this time of year, which is real unusual; feels like bathwater out there.

Saturday morning (July 25th) is the pick of the early stuff. There’s a 1.3m swell from the SSW, but the period is a massive 20 seconds – that’s deep ocean groundswell with plenty of punch. Combined energy is sitting at 1405. Wind is only 5 km/h cross-off and glassy, making it super clean. This is excellent for experienced surfers. Saturday afternoon stays clean with a 1.7m SSW swell and a 15 km/h cross-off breeze.

Sunday July 26th and Monday July 27th still have size – 1.5m to 2.1m – but the quality drops off with cross-shore winds and questionable tides. The energy is still big, between 1507 and 3138, but the shapes get a bit choppy and less inviting.

Tuesday July 28th and Wednesday July 29th produce a real standout. Wednesday morning (July 29th) brings a 3.0m SSW swell at 15 seconds, with glassy winds from the SSW. Combined energy is 3615. At over 2.5m, this is experts-only territory – big, powerful, reef-break waves. It’s clean and glassy, but you better know what you’re doing. Wednesday afternoon shifts to a 30 km/h offshore from the WNW, cleaning it up again, but the swell drops to 1.6m.

Thursday July 30th is another clean, solid day with a 1.7m SW swell (12-second period) and glassy cross-off winds, energy at 1423. Friday July 31st has a smaller 1.3m swell, but wind is cross-on, so it’s not the good stuff.

By Saturday August 1st, the swell crashes to 0.8m and smaller. Energy drops into the 200s and 300s. From August 1st through August 4th, it’s a real lull – small, clean sometimes but mostly just tiny and weak. That’s a 4-day gap where the surf is basically flat.

Then, on Wednesday August 5th, we get a wildcard. A 3.5m to 4.0m swell from the ESE, but with a short period of just 9 seconds. Combined energy is high at 1993 to 2725, but that short-period swell this big on a reef is messy, dumpy, and chaotic. Wind is cross-off, but the direction is wrong for the break. It’s more of a kite-surf setup than a paddle surf day, and long-range forecasts this far out are shaky.

The final few days (August 7th to 9th) go back to small, clean surf – 0.5m to 0.9m – with long-period groundswell at 15-17 seconds. Good for a mellow cruise, but no fireworks. Energy is 250 to 474.

Best on offer: Saturday morning July 25th for that deep, clean, chest-high groundswell, and Wednesday morning July 29th for the big, glassy, expert-only bombs.

Rusty.

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