Devonport Rivermouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, with a look at the charts. Straight up: this is a rough one for Devonport Rivermouth. The whole 16-day block is a write-off for decent surf. I see nothing but "poor surf conditions" across the board, and the scores are a flat zero every single session. The river mouth is a point/river set-up, but there’s no energy to work with and the wind’s usually wrong. It’s a real bummer.

Let’s run through it. The first lot of recommendations come in on Friday, August 21st, but it’s a mess. Swell is a weak 3 ft from the NW at 5 seconds, and combined energy is a paltry 97 – barely enough to ripple the surface. Saturday the 22nd sees a jump in size to 7 ft from the WNW with a period of 8 seconds, and energy hits 526, which is solid moderate. The wind is cross-off from the WSW at 19 mph, which makes it clean, but the report still calls it poor. That's likely because the short period and the particular setup at the rivermouth just don't make it surfable, or it’s dumping too straight for a point break. For a beginner, 7 ft is already pushing it, and for anyone else, the quality just isn't there.

After that, the swell drops off a cliff. Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th see tiny 1.0 ft to 4 ft swells, but the wind is cross or onshore, so it's all chop. From Tuesday the 25th onward, it’s flat as a pancake for days. We’re talking 0.3 ft to 1 ft of swell with long periods (14 to 18 seconds), but with energy values mostly under 100 – weak, pathetic stuff. The wind goes light and sometimes offshore, but there’s nothing to ride. There’s a solid 9-day gap of nothing worth paddling for.

The only flicker of something comes right at the end on Thursday, September 3rd, when a 6 ft NE swell rolls in at 6 seconds. But the wind is cross-on from the NW, and the energy is moderate at 284. Still, the report says poor surf. The water temp is around 55°F with a +0.9°F anomaly, so it’s about average for late winter, but that’s not comfort.

Honestly, mate, there is no standout in this window. Not a single day. If you’re itching for a paddle, the cleanest conditions are on some of the flat days, but you’ll be floating. A blank run like this is pretty normal for this area when the wind and swell just don’t line up. Forecasts can change, but for now, I’d hang the board up and wait for the next weather system.

Rusty.

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