Joaquina is the best and most consistent wave in Florianopolis. That means it can get crowded, however, there are still the lucky uncrowded sessions as well.
The main wave is a world-class left, breaking on a sand bottom. It works fine at a small size less than 3ft, and is hollow and powerful as it gets larger, handling 10ft plus. As is common to beach breaks, when it gets big, there is a little channel and paddling out gets more difficult.
Traditionally it is more popular and localized at the northern end of the beach near the big rock. However, walking towards the south end of the beach will take you to numerous less crowded peaks to choose from, including the occasional right-hander.
High surf season runs from April-October when it picks bigger swells coming from the South Atlantic and Antarctica. November-March is smaller surf on average yet can still be overhead. It works on all tides.
Swell directions are from the East, South, and best from the Southeast. Winds are offshore from the NorthWest, and also works fine with NorthEast or West winds.
