Riet River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – we’re looking at a patchy 16-day window for Riet River. There's some serious size on the way, but the conditions are gonna be a battle for most of it.

We start off with a bit of a wait. The first few days into mid-August are a write-off, with onshore winds and messy, poor surf. The water is sitting at 62°, which is a solid 5° colder than normal for this time of year, so you're gonna feel that chill.

The first time things start looking half-decent is on Monday the 17th, with some cleaner conditions in the afternoon. We get a 3ft SSW swell, with a light cross-offshore breeze from the SSW making for clean faces. The energy is moderate at 322, but it's small and inconsistent, so don't get your hopes up for anything cracking.

The real standout of the whole run looks set for Tuesday the 18th. The morning is small but the afternoon goes glassy. A 4ft SSW groundswell with a period of 13 seconds and absolutely glassy conditions from the south-west. It’ll be clean as a whistle. Combined energy is moderate at 455, so it's not super powerful, but the lack of wind is the big win. This is the one to pencil in for a proper session.

After that, the wind stays offshore for a bit through Wednesday the 19th, with a 5ft swell in the afternoon and clean conditions, but the long period (12 seconds) will make it a bit walled-off at a beach setup like this, needing a bank to work.

Then we hit the big stuff. Thursday the 20th of August sees a jump to a 10ft ESE swell – that's expert territory over 8ft. The energy is strong at 1805, but the wind is light cross-onshore. That's pushing the limits for paddle surfing here.

The real monster hits on Friday the 21st of August. We're talking a 23ft ESE swell with a massive energy reading of 22190. The wind is onshore and howling at 31 mph from the ENE. That is blown to pieces. This setup looks far more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. It's a no-go for us.

The weekend of the 22nd-23rd sees the swell drop from 16ft down to 8ft, with clean cross-offshore winds from the SW. The 16ft on Saturday morning is still massive and for experts only. By Sunday afternoon, the 8ft SW swell is more manageable, but it's a short period of 9 seconds, meaning weaker, less organized waves and a cross-shore chop.

After that, it's back to the same old story for the last few days of the month – onshore winds and poor surf conditions with moderate energy swells. The wind is just going to mess it up.

So, bottom line: The standouts are minimal. Aim for Tuesday the 18th in the afternoon for the cleanest, most user-friendly waves. The big swells on the 20th and 21st are for experts only or best left for the kite crew. Keep your eyes on the sky and the wind.

Rusty.

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