Riet River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's have a look at the next couple of weeks.

Overall, the pattern here is moody. There’s some clean, manageable swell early on, then it gets wild and stormy, and we finally see a return to calmer, cleaner conditions in the latter part of the second week. The real standout is a window of quality waves around Sunday the 20th, which looks like the best bet of the whole period.

We kick off on Monday, the 14th of September at Riet River. The morning is a no-go – cross-onshore breeze and a score that's barely worth looking at. Wait until the afternoon when the wind swings offshore and it goes clean. You’ll find clean, 3ft waves from the SSW. The water's running at 61°F, which is a massive 5°F colder than normal for this time of year; a very unusual chill that you'll feel on your face.

Tuesday the 15th brings clean offshore winds in the morning, but the swell drops to 3ft with moderate energy. It’s small but clean. The afternoon turns to onshore wind with 2ft – it just gets messy.

Then from Wednesday the 16th, things get gnarly. A big jump to 10ft on Wednesday morning, but with a strong offshore wind and moderate energy. The swell is big for the point, but that same strong breeze will be making it tricky. Thursday the 17th is a write-off: onshore winds and 8ft of messy swell. It stays blown out through the rest of the week and into the next.

A huge storm pulse arrives late on Saturday the 19th, with 13ft of wind swell from the ESE and a combined energy reading of 4339 – that's a lot of raw power. But with a strong onshore wind, it’s all chop and no good. That kind of energy at a beach setup like this is more of a kiteboarding day than a surfing one.

After a solid week of rubbish, things finally turn around. Sunday the 20th of September is your moment. The morning starts small at 3ft, but the standout is the afternoon: clean 6ft waves from the SW, with a light cross-offshore breeze and excellent conditions. This is the call of the period. That SSW swell direction is perfect for the point, and with good energy in the water and a period of 13 seconds, you’re looking at proper, well-shaped lines. Keep an eye on the crowds though – this spot is known to get them sometimes.

Monday the 21st still has some size (8ft) but the wind is howling again, so that window shut quickly.

The tail end of the forecast from the 22nd of September shows cleaner conditions again. Tuesday afternoon the 22nd sees 5ft from the SE with a light breeze – very good surf. Then Wednesday the 23rd morning is a real treat: glassy calm, 4ft SSW swell, and a clean surface. That’s a sneaky good session if you can get out.

From there, Thursday the 24th onwards gets messy again with onshore winds, and the last few days of the period (25th to 29th) are largely blown out or too clean but onshore. The final stretch looks poor.

So your top picks: the absolute standout is Sunday afternoon, the 20th of September – clean 6ft SSW swell and light offshore wind. For a quiet, glassy morning, the 23rd of September is your hidden gem.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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