Prainha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s cookin’ for the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a slow burn, so don’t go gettin’ your hopes up for a classic right away.

The first real chance to get wet is coming up on Wednesday, the 26th of August. We’ve got a little pulse of south-east swell rolling into Prainha, a spot that can handle it. It’s an advanced wave, so this ain’t a learner’s zone. The early session is where it’s at: Wednesday morning is looking clean with a light offshore wind swinging out of the west at just 3 mph. Swell is small, around 3 ft from the SE, but it’s got a long period of 16 seconds—that’s proper groundswell energy, and it’ll wrap in nicely. The water is sitting at 68°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so the rubber might be a bit more comfortable.

The wave energy at that time is moderate, clocking in at 348. It’s not gonna blow your socks off, but it’s clean and the conditions are right. Expect some crowd factor, though—this spot gets surfed on a regular basis, so you might be sharing the takeoff zone.

The afternoon on Wednesday turns ugly quick with an onshore breeze, so call it a half-day and get it in the morning.

Thursday the 27th offers another chance. Morning again is the window: glassy conditions thanks to a NNW breeze at only 3 mph. The swell drops a touch to 2 ft, still SE, period dropping to 14 seconds. Combined energy at 325—still moderate. Another clean, workable session for those who know the break, but nothing to get frantic about.

Friday the 28th through the weekend sees a shift. The swell direction goes east and the period drops to a short 8 seconds. This is weaker, choppier stuff. Morning glass-off windows exist, but the wave quality is ordinary. It’s not going to offer much more than a knee-high drift.

We hit a real dry spell from the 29th of August all the way through to around the 3rd and 4th of September. There’s a big gap of almost a week where the surf is either too small, too messy, or blown out. There’s a couple of marginal windows with clean winds, but the swell is tiny—2 ft, 1 ft. Pointless unless you’re desperate.

Now, the one true standout in this whole forecast is Wednesday, the 8th of September morning. After a long wait, we get a proper pulse again. The swell bumps up to 4 ft from the east, with a period of 8 seconds. It’s not groundswell, but the combined energy jumps to 239—moderate—and the wind is offshore from the southwest at 6 mph. Clean conditions, solid surf for the advanced crew. This is the morning to circle on your calendar.

The next morning, the 9th, is already blown out with onshore winds, so it’s a one-morning wonder.

Finally, on Thursday the 10th of September, we get a double-glass day. Morning has 3 ft east swell with glassy conditions and combined energy at 302. The afternoon gets interesting: the swell drops to 2 ft, but it switches to a long-period ESE swell at 15 seconds—proper groundswell. Energy is at 239, and it’s dead glass. For a small-wave specialist, that afternoon session could be a quiet, clean surprise.

The last week of the forecast, from the 4th onward, is mostly a write-off except for those two mornings. A lot of weak, short-period east swell with choppy side-shore winds. For the advanced crew at Prainha, the 8th of September morning is the best bet in the whole 16 days.

Rusty, signing off.

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