Viana do Castelo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, taking a look at the lineup for Viana do Castelo.

First up, the good news is there are some fun waves on the horizon, but we've got to wade through a bit of slop first. The river mouth here is exposed to a good W to NW swell, but the next few days are looking messy.

This coming Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th are a write-off. We've got small, weak, short-period swell combined with onshore winds just making a mess of things. Skip it.

Friday the 28th morning is a standout, but with a big, serious caveat. We’ve got a solid 7ft WNW swell rolling in, with a long, powerful 10-second period. The combined energy is a massive 916 (strong to very strong), so there is plenty of grunt in the water. Winds are light cross-shore, which is great for shape. The problem is, 7ft is pushing the limits for the river mouth, and the forecast even says it might be too big. This is one for the experts only; beginners should stay well clear. The swell direction (WNW) is bang on the optimum for the break.

After that, things clean up a little. Saturday morning the 29th sees the swell drop to a more manageable 4ft from the NW with a clean cross-offshore wind. It’s nothing special, just surfable waves, but at least the wind is right.

Now, Sunday the 30th morning is another real highlight. We’ve got a nice 5ft NW groundswell with a 10-second period. The combined energy is a solid 469 (moderate). The kicker here is the wind: absolutely glassy. That’s rare and a huge positive, meaning the river mouth will be mirror-smooth. This is your best bet for a clean, fun session.

Looking ahead to the second week, the consistency looks better. Friday the 4th of September is a promising pick. Expect a solid 6ft NW swell with a very long 11-second period and light cross-offshore wind. The energy is high at 847 (strong). It looks very good.

Saturday the 5th of September is also worth a shout, with similar 6ft NW groundswell and clean conditions in the morning.

Sunday the 6th of September morning looks great too, with a smaller 4ft NNW groundswell and another day of absolutely glassy conditions. Perfect for a longboard or a fun-sized shortboard.

The rest of the window has some clean but smaller days, and a couple of days where the wind gets too strong, making it more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, especially that Tuesday afternoon the 1st of September with 19 mph winds.

Overall, the standout windows are Sunday morning the 30th for the glassy conditions and Friday the 4th of September for the bigger, cleaner groundswell. Don't bother paddling out until Friday the 28th at the earliest, and only then if you're charging.

Rusty.

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