Zicatela Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let's have a look at what's on the cards for Zicatela.

We've got a real solid run of surf coming up, starting this Wednesday. The water is sitting at 87°F down at Zicatela, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The standout session is without a doubt Wednesday morning, the 29th of July. We're looking at a clean 6ft SW groundswell rolling in with a long 16-second period. It's absolutely glassy, calm as anything, and the combined energy is pumping at 1701. This is serious, powerful stuff – definitely one for the experienced surfers only, as it's well over the 5ft mark and into expert territory. The swell direction is SSW, which is right on the money for this exposed break. It can get a bit of a crowd here sometimes, but with waves like this, you’ll have to share the peak.

Thursday the 30th is still good, but a touch smaller. Morning glass again, with a 5ft SSW swell at 14 seconds. Energy is still solid at 907. It's a good wave, just not quite the beast of the day before. Friday morning the 31st is more of the same clean, glassy conditions, with the swell dropping to 4ft and energy down to 634.

Over the weekend, from the 1st of August into the start of next week, things get smaller. The swell dips below 3ft on the Saturday morning with 3ft and a 13-second period. Still got those glassy mornings, but the energy is dropping right back into the hundreds (379). Sunday the 2nd is tiny at 3ft. There's a gap here where the surf just isn't worth paddling out for the afternoons, but the mornings stay clean.

After a bit of a lull, the swell starts to build again. The morning of Monday the 3rd of August sees a little spike to 3ft with a long 15-second period, but there's a risk of thunderstorms around.

Looking into the second week, things look promising but less certain. The morning of Saturday the 8th of August is a highlight – glassy conditions, a 3ft SSW swell at a solid 16 seconds, and energy building back up to 674. That's a clean, fun-sized wave. Sunday the 9th holds similar with 4ft and glassy conditions.

The following Monday morning, the 10th of August, is another glassy one with a 3ft SSW swell. But keep an eye on the 11th of August – the Tuesday afternoon has a 3ft SW swell with a massive 18-second period, pushing the energy up to 806. That's a very long period groundswell. At a beach break like Zicatela, those extra-long period waves can sometimes break a bit too straight and lumpy, but if the sandbanks are right, it could be phenomenal. The mornings remain the clear winners for conditions right through to the 13th.

Overall, if you're up for a big, powerful wave, get out there Wednesday morning. Otherwise, the mornings from the 8th of August onwards look like the most consistent, clean fun for the rest of the run.

Rusty.

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