Tres Marias
Edit SpotAbout
Unknown huge wave (slap, powerful and fast) is the biggest one in Brazil alongside Laje da Jaguaruna and Ilha dos Lobos. The average size of Tres Marias is 18ft to 20ft but sometimes is bigger.
Atmosphere:
Tres Marias (three marys in english) is a very unknown secret spot in Cassino beach with one of the biggest waves in Brazil. Around 5km from the shore close to the end tip of a huge breakwater structure built to help cargo ships go to Rio Grande port by entering in the lagoon, it's a sand bar that breaks only in the right conditions but when it does it's huge and dangerous. When there are big swells it's possible to see the Tres Marias from the shore, so you can imagine how big they are (clear image from 5km away)... few locals have dropped the Tres Marias.
The city of Rio Grande has one of the biggest ports in South America and is very close to the conection between Lagoa dos Patos (one of the largest lagoons in the world) and the Atlantic Ocean. The two fin lines that show up in the map location are called "Molhes" in portuguese... some couple hundred meters away from the left one (Molhe Oeste) is where the magic happens! This stone barrier has a little wind-cart (a mine cart with a sail) and you can take it to go to the end tip of the Molhe, that is more than 4km long. Along the way it is possible to see sea lions and wolves hanging out in the rocks (those guys really know the best spots!) and sometimes dolphins.
The waves are so powerful that they can drag the big rocks and concrete blocks from the stone barrier. There are registers that blocks with 20 tons where wiped out! The guys that work in the port and cargo ships call it "Hawaii" and it is important to remeber that this is a very dangerous wave and can produce some giant series after series killers that will push you back to shore like a tsunami! So you must always have extra caution and rescue boats around.
Additional Info:
Tow-in only!
Location
Loading...Access
The Tres Marias breaks around 5km from the shore and the only way to get there is by boat, but it's possible to see them from the end tip of the Molhe Oeste (4km long stone barrier) and in big days you can see it from the shore.
| Walk | Don't know |
|---|---|
| Public access | Yes |
| 4x4 required | No |
| Boat required | Yes |
Wave Characteristics
| Type | Sandbar |
|---|---|
| Direction | Right and left |
| Bottom | Sandy |
| Power | Fast, Powerful, Slab |
| Frequency | Sometimes breaks (50 days/year) |
| Normal length | Long (150 to 300m) |
| Good day length | Don't know |
Ideal Conditions
| Wind direction | South, SouthEast |
|---|---|
| Swell direction | South |
| Swell size | Don't know - 16ft and over |
| Tide | Don't know |
| Tide movement | Don't know |
Crowd
| Week | Empty |
|---|---|
| Weekend | Empty |
Dangers
Rips / undertow
Videos
None
Nearby spots
3.48 miles away
| Direction: | Right and left |
| Bottom: | Sandy |
| Frequency: | Sometimes breaks (50 days/year) |
12.20 miles away
| Direction: | Right and left |
| Bottom: | Sandy |
| Frequency: | Sometimes breaks (50 days/year) |
13.33 miles away
| Direction: | Right and left |
| Bottom: | Sandy with rock |
| Frequency: | Don't know |