Arrieta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Arrieta. It’s a quiet start, but we’ve got one standout window that might get your blood pumping. For the most part though, this is a lean fortnight.

Alright, the first real glimpse of anything half-decent arrives on Sunday, the 23rd of August. Saturday the 22nd is a write-off – messy cross-shore winds and weak little 4ft waves with poor conditions. Sunday morning, you’ll see the swell start to build a little, with clean 3ft waves from the north and a gentle cross-offshore breeze (moderate wave energy – 332). It’s surfable but ordinary. The highlight pops Sunday afternoon: that 5ft swell from the NNW, with a long 14-second period. The wind is gentle and cross-offshore, so the surface cleans right up. The combined swell energy jumps to 1045, so there’s proper grunt in the water. This is the best on offer – a real reef-break runner with that groundswell pulse. It’s still advanced-rated and inconsistent here, so it won’t be packed full of beginners, and the NNW direction is nicely tuned to the optimum N direction. Great shape, long lines, and not too big for a paddle.

Monday the 24th morning still has some decent 6ft NNW swell with a 12-second period and clean conditions (energy at 1077), but the winds pick up to a moderate breeze, and by the afternoon it turns cross-shore and goes pear-shaped. After that, from Monday arvo right through to Wednesday afternoon – and then pretty much the rest of the 16 days – it’s all poor. The swell gets bigger – pushing 8ft by the 28th and 29th – but it’s a short-period, messy NNE windswell, with persistent moderate to strong cross-shore breezes. That creates lumpy, chunky, poor surf. That’s a long gap of nothing from the 24th afternoon all the way to the end. Even when the winds clean up slightly on the 30th afternoon, the wave comment still calls it poor. No second-week standouts at all – just more of the same ordinary conditions.

So, for Arrieta, if you’re keen, that Sunday arvo is your shot. A bit of a tease, then a long dry spell. Keep an eye on the charts – it tends not to stay this ugly forever.

– Rusty

Read more