Faja da Caldeira de Santo Cristo

Best Surf Season (October - March)

The North Atlantic winds up its long-period swell machine as autumn deepens into winter. From October through March, average swell heights at Faja da Caldeira de Santo Cristo range from about 5-6ft (1.5-1.9m), with average periods of 9.4-10.5s, delivering a healthy dose of powerful, long-period groundswell. These months see an increase in the number of extratropical cyclones tracking across the mid-Atlantic, and when their tracks dip far enough south, they swing S/SSW/SW swell directly into this south-facing pocket on São Jorge. The catch is local wind: ideal offshore flow from the N/NNE/NE/NNW quadrant is present only about 8-13% of the time, because the same low-pressure systems that produce southerly swell often drag S/SW winds and rain with them. Still, the best surf of the year is found here, especially when a high-pressure ridge builds behind a storm and turns the wind offshore while long swell pours in.