Note
Why nearby beaches behave differently
Beaches a few kilometres apart in Valdoviño open to different compass bearings, sit behind different headlands, and feel the same tide at different depths. Orientation, not distance, is usually why one works when another does not.
How the openings differ
Frouxeira faces north across a long arenal. Pantín looks northwest. Vilarrube sits more sheltered in the ría. The same swell and wind therefore arrive as different problems.
How headlands sort the energy
Headlands and bathymetry sort the energy before it reaches the sand. A bank that holds at O Rodo can be closed out at Frouxeira, or the other way around after a tide change.
What to do when one fails
If the exposed beach is messy, check the next orientation along the arc before writing the day off. Compare Pantín, Frouxeira and Campelo on A Marea side by side: same day, different faces.
Keep reading
pantin-valdovinovaldovinosurf-sciencepantin
Atlas of the Atlantic · O Rodo, Frouxeira, Baleo and Vilarrube.