Figueira da Foz - Cabedelo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer at Figueira da Foz. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch ahead. We’ve got a real dry spell to get through before anything even starts to look like a proper surf.

The opening of the forecast is pretty grim. From Saturday the 4th right through the middle of the week, it’s all tiny, weak swell and messy wind. You’re looking at ankle-snappers and cross-onshore chop. There’s just no energy in the water. The combined swell energy is barely registering, mostly under 100 (99 at best early on), which is about as weak as it gets. Honestly, it’s not worth paddling out for.

We finally see a glimmer of hope on Friday morning, the 10th of July. The swell starts to nudge up to 2ft from the WNW, with a slightly longer period of 9 seconds, and the wind actually turns light offshore from the West. That’s a big deal. The energy ticks up a notch to 122, but it’s still pretty marginal. The morning session that day might be your only real chance of a clean, rideable wave in the first week.

Then it’s back to the doldrums for a few more days. There’s a couple of glassy mornings – like Saturday the 11th morning and Monday the 13th morning – but the swell is tiny and weak, just 2ft to 3ft. You’d be scratching for scraps.

The real standout? You have to look all the way to the second week. Sunday the 19th of July afternoon is the only time this forecast really gets interesting. We’re looking at a proper jump in size: 6ft from the NW with a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 538 (moderate to strong), which finally feels like a real swell. But – and it’s a big but – the wind is a fresh cross-shore at 19 mph, making it lumpy and chopped up. That’s not ideal for Cabedelo, which is an exposed beach-and-pier setup. With that much wind, this is looking more like a kite-surfing afternoon than a clean wave for a paddle surfer. It’s also a lot of water for beginners.

Cabedelo (Figueira da Foz) itself is a beginner-friendly spot that’s fairly consistent and exposed to swell from the West, which is what we’re mostly seeing. The water temperature is sitting at 64°F, which is actually about 1°F cooler than average for this time of year – nothing drastic, just a bit of a nip in the air.

For the best of a bad bunch: Saturday morning, the 11th of July. The swell is a modest 3ft from the NNW with a short 7-second period, but the wind goes glassy. It’s tiny, but clean. You might get a few fun ones if you’re on a log.

The only other window, and it's a long-range gamble, is Sunday the 19th. The size is real, but the wind will be messy. Expect a battle, not a cruise.

To sum it up: these first ten days are almost a complete write-off for decent surf at Cabedelo. The second week has some energy, but it’s gonna be windy. Keep an eye on the forecasts, because it tends not to stay this flat for long.

Rusty.

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