Viana do Castelo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the Viana do Castelo region.

Alright, so the next couple of weeks are looking pretty quiet for us in Viana do Castelo. We've got a stretch of small, weak surf with those combined energy numbers mostly in the double digits, which is pretty gutless. The water’s sitting at 62°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you'll want a decent suit.

The first real chance of anything decent doesn't roll in until the morning of Friday the 17th of July. That's a good week and a half away. We see a jump in the swell to 5 ft from the NW, with a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy hits 275 (moderate). The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the NNW at 9 mph, which will keep things tidy. That morning is your standout, but it's a long way off. The break is a river mouth, so it can handle a bit of NW swell, but it's a beginner spot, so that 5 ft might be a little much for total newbies.

After that, the swell hangs around but the wind gets messy. The morning of Saturday the 18th is still 4 ft from the NW with clean cross-off wind, but the energy is a bit lower. The real gem looks like the morning of Sunday the 19th of July. We've got 4 ft from the NW again, but the wind is glassy. That's dead calm, and you'll have clean, smooth waves. The period is a short 8 seconds, so it'll be a bit crumbly, but with no wind, it'll be a fun, user-friendly size. The energy is 205 (moderate). That's a morning to mark on the calendar.

Then, the swell actually builds a touch more. The morning of Tuesday the 21st of July has 5 ft from the NW, but the period drops to 7 seconds. The wind is glassy again, which is great, but the short period means it'll be a bit lumpy and weak. The energy is 223 (moderate). It's surfable, but nothing to write home about.

Honestly, the whole stretch is a waiting game. The first week is a total write-off. The second week has a few mornings that are promising, especially the 19th and the 21st with the glassy conditions. But the swell is on the smaller side and the period is often short. For a river break, the longer period swells (like the 11-second one on the 14th) are better for shape, but that day had no size. Keep an eye on those Sunday and Tuesday mornings, but don't get your hopes too high for any barrels.

Rusty.

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