Zambujeira do Mar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, gather round. Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Zambujeira do Mar.

Truth be told, the next week and a half is looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of poor conditions staring us in the face, with the wind messing things up and the swell just not playing ball. It’s not until the tail end of the forecast window that we see a flicker of hope.

The first few days, from Sunday the 2nd through to the middle of the month, are all variations of "poor surf conditions." The wind is mostly cross-onshore, moderate to fresh, and the swell is small and weak. The combined energy readings are all in the low to mid hundreds, which is fairly weak energy. The swell is short-period, under 8 seconds a lot of the time, so it’s just mushy, choppy junk. Water temps are sitting at 19°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, about 2° cooler. Nothing to get excited about there.

There’s a slight uptick in swell around Thursday the 6th, with heights hitting 5 ft to 5 ft, but the wind is a solid cross-onshore at 13-16 mph, so it’s just a choppy mess. The only real chance for a surf comes in the second week. On the morning of Friday the 14th, we get a bit of a longer period swell, 10 seconds, with a light NNW wind at 3 mph. The energy is decent at 210, but it’s still a "marginal" call. The waves would be small, around 3 ft, and the conditions are borderline.

Then, on the morning of Monday the 17th, we finally get a window. The wind goes glassy. Absolutely glassy. It’s a rare thing here, and it makes a massive difference. The swell is still small, 3 ft from the NNW with a period of 9 seconds, but the combined energy is 156. The wave comment says "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions." It’s not pumping, but it’s the best we’ll see. The wind is light, the surface will be clean. It’s the standout of the whole run, but it’s still a quiet, small day. For intermediate surfers, that 3 ft is fine, but it’s nothing to write home about.

So, in short: the first 16 days are a write-off for quality surf. The only real window is the morning of Monday the 17th, when the wind drops and the ocean goes flat and clean. It’s a small window, but it’s all we’ve got.

Rusty.

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