Petes Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks. Honestly, it’s a tough stretch. We’ve got *Petes Reef* as the only spot in the game, and for the next few days, the ocean is just not cooperating.

We kick things off on Friday the 28th and it’s a write-off. Strong cross-onshore winds and rain showers are wrecking any chance of a decent wave. That trend holds through the weekend, with messy, choppy conditions and poor surf quality. The swell is there, around 5ft on average, but the wind is just killing it.

The first flicker of hope comes late on Monday the 31st. A bigger pulse of swell comes through, with the combined energy hitting strong levels (1845). The swell direction shifts to West with a 10-second period, which is a good sign. But the wind is still a cross-shore breeze, making it lumpy. It’s a marginal day, not a standout, but if you’re desperate, it’s the best we’ve seen.

After that, we go into a real quiet spell. Tuesday the 1st and Wednesday the 2nd drop right off in size. Wednesday morning actually looks tidy with light cross-offshore winds and clean conditions, but the swell is tiny at 3ft, barely enough to push through. It’s surfable, but it’s not going to get the heart racing.

We get a couple more days in the same vein, with small, wind-affected waves. The water temp here is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual to report.

Then, a real big one shows up on the long-range radar. Wednesday the 9th through to Thursday the 10th sees a serious swell event. On Wednesday the 9th, the swell jumps to 8ft from the SW, and by Thursday morning, it’s 10ft from the West with a 9-second period. The combined energy is massive (1312-1473). But there’s a catch – the wind is howling. Near-gale force on Thursday, blowing cross-onshore, so that swell is going to be a messy, blown-out beast. This is strictly for experts only, and even then, it’s not going to be pretty.

Given the beach and reef setup, with all that wind and a big, lumpy swell, this area looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a traditional paddle session during that mid-week blow. It’s a powerful swell, but the quality will be poor.

Overall, the pick of the entire 16-day window is that marginal Monday the 31st. It’s not a classic, but it’s the one day where the swell has some grunt and the wind isn’t completely destroying it. Keep your expectations low.

Rusty.

Read more