Surfing Coxos

Swell arrives from deep water and unloads on a gradually sloping reef of rocky shelves, so the power sits low in the wave and the sections run fast and hollow. When the sets line up, rides of around 200 m are possible. It likes north to west swells, with north-west the classic direction, and it handles real size, though it is usually at its best around 2–3 m. East to south-east winds are offshore.

Most guides favour low to mid tide, while some prefer a little more water over the shallowest shelves, so watch a few sets and ask before you paddle out. October to March is the season; summer is usually too small. Getting in and out is part of the test: you launch and exit over slippery rocks full of urchins, boots help, and in big swells the current pushes toward the rocks. Locals control the peak and crowds build fast on classic days. If you are unsure, you are not ready yet: surf Ribeira d'Ilhas instead.

The point faces west, so shoot in the morning with the sun behind you and light on the face as surfers pull in. From mid-afternoon the sun drops over the sea into your lens: backlit spray can look great at sunset, but faces go dark. The cliff tops next to the car parks look down the line from above, the angle that shows the length of the wave and the shape of the barrel; a 200–500 mm lens on full frame covers the take-off to the inside.

Stay on the paths and well back from the edge, as the cliffs are high. A wide lens from the same spot tells the story of the bay and the reef on a big swell, and the headland frames sets nicely as they wrap in. Shooting from the water is only for very experienced water photographers, given the shallow shelves, the currents and a line-up that does not welcome distractions.

Coxos is about 3 km north of Ericeira on the coast road towards Ribamar, roughly 500 m past the Ribeira d'Ilhas turn-off, and around 45 minutes by car from Lisbon. Park in the two small unpaved lots on the cliff top, which fill quickly on good days. A short path leads to the cliff and down to the small beach, but surfers enter the water from the rocks. A small café opens by the beach in summer; otherwise there are few services.