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Surf spot guide · Costa Verde, Brazil
The river-mouth sandbar at the barra do Rio Mambucaba, a historic-village beach that sleeps through calm spells and wakes into the peak locals call Californinha when south swell enters the bay.
Dangerous Conditions
Dangerous conditions with waves up to 2.2m and energy levels reaching 3112 kJ. Peak conditions around 9:00 PM.
Extremely hazardous surf conditions. Only experienced surfers should consider entering the water. Strong currents, large waves, and powerful energy present. Warning valid until 9:00 PM.
Praia de Mambucaba fronts the colonial Vila Historica de Mambucaba on the western arm of the Baia da Ilha Grande, and its surf lives at one place: the barra do Rio Mambucaba, where the river coming down off the Bocaina plateau meets the sea. The sandbar formations at the river mouth shape a peak that local surfers named Californinha de Mambucaba, and in wave periods it draws surfers from around the region and even from abroad. Be clear about what this is, though. The bay sits behind Ilha Grande, wave modeling of the area shows ordinary days arriving under half a meter, and only south to southeast energy slips in with any strength, concentrating from around 165 degrees. The beach alternates between long calm spells and real wave windows, and when a proper south swell or ressaca pushes through, modeled heights near this coast climb to around a meter and a half and the barra turns into a genuine sandbar peak. Time it right and you surf a quiet, pretty corner of the Costa Verde with a nineteenth-century village behind the sand. Time it wrong and you swim. The river outflow and shifting bars demand respect on exactly the days the wave is worth it.
A sandbar at the river mouth that locals call Californinha, asleep behind Ilha Grande until a south swell slips through.
Empty most of the year, but a real swell window brings surfers in from around the region and, as the village itself tells it, sometimes from abroad.
Sleepy, historic, swell-dependent
Costa Verde
The mainland beach where Angra dos Reis surfs, a short A-frame peak with daily lifeguards, a surf school and the town's contest scene.
Costa Verde
A hollow, heavy left breaking over a submerged rock slab off Ilha da Gipoia, reachable only by boat from Angra dos Reis.
Costa Verde
A remote left point break on Ilha Grande's exposed south coast, peeling beside the landmark boulder known as Turtle Rock.
+4 MORE →Wait for a confirmed S to SE swell with real period before driving out, the bay flattens anything smaller.
Head for the barra do Rio Mambucaba at the end of the beach, the sandbar at the river mouth is the wave, not the middle of the sand.
Treat flat spells as normal, locals describe the beach as switching between calm and waves through the year.
Paddle wide of the main river channel after heavy rain, the outflow digs the bar but the current is no joke.
Mambucaba sits on the Rio Santos about 45 minutes from Paraty and 50 from Angra dos Reis, so pair it with Cepilho or Praia Brava if the barra is not working.
HAZARDS · KNOW BEFORE YOU PADDLE
Praia de Mambucaba fronts the Vila Historica de Mambucaba just off the BR-101 Rio Santos, about 45 minutes from Paraty and 50 minutes from Angra dos Reis on good pavement. Park near the historic village and walk the sand to the barra do Rio Mambucaba at the river mouth. The village beach has lifeguard coverage.
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