Galheta Laguna

Galheta Beach is near the Santa Marta Lighthouse, in Laguna, on the south coast of Santa Catarina, split between the Galheta Norte and Galheta Sul stretches, with a few residents' and vacationers' houses scattered around. The bottom is sand and the waves break a bit fuller than at neighboring spots, forming far from the shore and near the rocky point, where rights predominate.

The spot holds south wind well, which makes it a sure option precisely when that wind spoils other beaches in the Cabo de Santa Marta area. The crowd is usually considerable, since the beach is much visited both by residents and by surfers passing through the Santa Catarina big-wave route. It's worth considering Galheta as plan B on strong south wind days, when the rest of SC's south coast is usually unsurfable.