Richards Bay (Inside) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the surf picture shaping up for Richards Bay (Inside) over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, the start is a bit of a struggle. There’s a real run of poor conditions through the first few days, and you’d be fighting cross-offshore winds and small, weak swell. The combined swell energy is weak to moderate, hovering around the 210-236 mark early on Monday, and the swell is pretty short-period and lacks any punch. Tuesday doesn’t offer much either, with small 2ft to 4ft swell and moderate cross-breezes.

Wednesday the 8th morning might give you the first hint of something rideable but it’s still very ordinary – just 2ft with a gentle cross-offshore, but the energy is weak at 82. Not worth paddling out for unless you’re desperate.

Thursday the 9th through to early Friday the 10th stay poor, with messy winds and onshore slop, though by Friday morning you start to see a jump in size: 5ft of south swell with a very long 15-second period. The energy is strong at 1200, but the wind is light and cross, so the surface is still a bit iffy – it’s more marginal than good, and borderline for tide issues.

Then comes the only real standout in this whole outlook. Saturday morning, July 11, is the pick of the bunch. You’ve got a solid 5ft of clean south groundswell with a period of 13 seconds, and a light gentle cross-offshore wind. The combined energy is still strong at 910, and this is the only time in the forecast where you get clean, cross-off conditions with enough size to get your rail engaged. Richards Bay (Inside) is a sandbar, so the long-period swell might push through a bit straight, but with the wind right, it should offer some lined-up walls for intermediate surfers. The crowd can be *sometimes* around here, but for this session, it’s likely less busy than a weekend arvo. The water temp is about normal for this time of year.

After that Saturday morning window, it drops away again quickly. Saturday afternoon turns to poor onshore chop, and the rest of the period goes pretty flat or messy. There are some stronger pulses in the second week, particularly Thursday the 16th morning when a massive 13ft swell hits with 30 km/h winds, but that’s just way too big – the energy reading is 3004, which tells you it’s a powerhouse, but Richards Bay (Inside) will be closing out and dangerous, only for experts if anyone. It’s also cross-shore with a fresh breeze, so the surface will be lumpy.

From the 12th to the 21st there are long gaps of no real quality – just one or two marginal or poor windows. The swell directions keep swinging, and the winds are mostly cross to onshore. You get a few clean mornings with a cross-off breeze but the swell is undersized (2ft to 4ft) and the energy is weak.

So, the one true standout here is Saturday morning, July 11. Get in the water then. The rest of the outlook is pretty bleak, but that’s the way it goes sometimes – don’t force it when it’s not there.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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