Grussaí.

Grussaí is the resort face of São João da Barra: a long, straight run of sand backed by bars, kiosks and holiday apartments, and the most visited beach in the municipality. The surf is a straightforward sandy beach break, rights and lefts shifting with the banks. It starts working under a meter and holds up to around two, likes south and southeast swells with land breezes from the west quadrant, and locals rate low to mid tide on the push. Rides stay short on an ordinary day and stretch out when a proper swell lines the banks up. Nobody calls it world class, and the honest rating is a fun, regular wave rather than a heavy one, but the competitive record is real: a national Super Trials surf stage ran here in 2002, São João da Barra opened the state bodyboard circuit for eight straight years, and Grussaí itself has hosted the UBCS Pro, state and regional stages from 2012 through 2018, with the municipal Sanjoanense circuit and the escola de bodyboard Jonas Grussaí keeping juniors in the water today. Outside contest weekends and high summer the lineup logs empty on weekdays. Respect the water: lifeguards here have rescued swimmers dragged by strong rips, and the sandbanks belong to a littoral cell the Porto do Açu breakwaters have been reshaping from the south.

Fun sandbar peaks and an empty midweek lineup on the beach where Campos and São João da Barra crown their bodyboarders.