Instrument, not magazine
Know when — and where — to paddle out, for your level.
PeelWatch turns raw swell, wind and tide into one honest 0–10 score per spot, per skill level, for the next 8 days — across every surf region in Portugal, from the north coast to the Algarve.
Built to answer one question, fast
The whole coast
70+ spots across 7 regions — Viana to Tavira — each with its own orientation, swell window, shelter and tide.
Ranked for your level
Switch L1–L5 and the entire coast re-sorts for what's good for you — not for a pro.
Alerts before it fires
One email, 1–3 days ahead, when your spot lines up. No spam, one-tap unsubscribe.
Live beachcams
Jump to the live cam for most spots and see the real sandbanks before you drive.
In five languages
English · Português · Español · Français · Deutsch.
Honest, not hyped
A multiplicative 0–10 — one dealbreaker sinks the session. No inflated star ratings.
What it measures
Seven marine variables — the surf signal — blended from multiple global and regional wave models, plus wind and daylight. Every hour, at each sampling point, validated before it's stored.
groundswell — the surfable energy
6s windchop → 14s+ clean groundswell
matched to each spot's swell window
the dominant swell train's period — for context, not yet a scoring input
a distinct second swell train, when the model resolves one — context only
local chop — degrades a clean swell
derived from the sea-level series
offshore / cross / onshore per spot
vs the spot's offshore angle
no night-surf recommendations
The forecast above is identical for every spot at a given hour. What makes one spot fire while another goes flat in the same swell is its profile — a fixed set of values set once per spot and reviewed by a human before it ships.
which way the beach opens — wind is read relative to this
the range of swell directions this spot can actually catch
residual exposure once a swell is outside that window
how much the seabed focuses or spreads the incoming swell
offshore wind speed the spot holds before it degrades
wind directions blocked by headlands or dunes
the tide stage this spot breaks best on
how forgiving that preference is — tight for tide-critical reefs
can rule a spot out for a level entirely, independent of size
New spots start provisional — a badge on the dashboard — with safety caps on size and skill-fit until a human checks the profile against real conditions for that region.
Two more fields we collect but don't score with: water and air temperature. Those power the wetsuit recommendation on each spot page instead.
How often it updates
Wave models publish twice a day. We ingest four times a day, recompute the full score matrix, and serve everything from our own database — so the page loads instantly and never depends on a third-party being up.
Are we honest about the forecast?
Every ~72 hours we lock in our prediction for each swell, then compare it to the day-of forecast once that hour arrives. No cherry-picking — every point, every run.
Building accuracy history — check back in a few days once enough forecasts have been verified.
We lock in each forecast 3 days before it counts, then compare it to the same model's call once that hour arrives — a measure of how much our forecast drifts as conditions get closer. An honest signal, even without a live buoy to check against.
See it on real data
Ribeira d'Ilhas →Live right now: swell height and the resulting Intermediate score at Ribeira d'Ilhas, next 8 days.
How the score works
The score is multiplicative on purpose — any single dealbreaker (howling onshore, dead-wrong tide, way too big for your level) sinks the hour even if everything else is perfect.
score = 10 × swellQuality × windFactor × tideFactor × skillFit × daylightLong-period groundswell is the product; short-period windchop degrades it.
Offshore holds it up, onshore tears it down — measured against each spot's offshore angle, with shelter (e.g. Baleal in a Nortada).
A smooth penalty by distance from the spot's tide preference; tide-critical reefs like Lagide are unforgiving.
Each level has an ideal breaking-height band, decaying fast on the too-big side for lower levels. A hard cap means a novice is never sent out at 2 m Supertubos.
Assessing your level
Pick the level that matches the biggest wave you paddle out for happily. The bands are the ideal breaking-height range; above the cap, the score is zero.
First whitewater to gentle green waves. Boring below, capped hard above for safety.
Confident on green waves, catching unbroken faces on a foamie or mini-mal.
Trimming along the face, making sections, comfortable in head-high surf.
Powerful overhead waves, reef and point breaks, confident hold-downs.
Big, heavy, shallow — Coxos and Supertubos on their day.
FAQ
Where does the data come from?+
Six marine variables — swell height, period, direction and peak period, plus local wind-sea and sea level — come from blended multi-model wave forecasts: a high-resolution European wave model combined with global models. Wind and daylight round out the inputs. Everything is validated before it's stored, and a secondary source covers any gap if the primary is ever unavailable. (Full data credits are in the footer.)
How can it tell two beaches apart if they share a wave model?+
The precision is in the spot database, not the feed. Each spot has its own orientation, swell window, wind shelter, bathymetry factor, tide preference and skill suitability. The same offshore swell scores very differently at Cantinho da Baía than at Supertubos.
How far ahead does it forecast?+
A rolling 8-day hourly horizon (192 hours — the Open-Meteo Marine model's cap). Confidence is highest inside 48 hours; alerts beyond ~4 days are held back because swell forecasts that far out are for daydreaming.
Is it real-time?+
No — and it doesn't need to be. Wave models publish twice a day, so we ingest four times a day and serve everything from our database. The dashboard never waits on a third-party API.
What do the numbers mean?+
Every score is 0–10: 0–2 Flat/Poor · 2–4 Marginal · 4–6 Fair · 6–8 Good · 8–10 Firing. Pick your level with the L1–L5 toggle and the whole coast re-ranks for you.
Dawn patrol starts here.
Check the coast in five seconds, or let an email tell you when your spot lines up.