Riet River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

We’ve got a solid run of surf coming up at Riet River, but it’s a bit of a slow burner at first. The real story here is a couple of powerful, long-period groundswells that punch through later in the outlook, and the key is to nail the windows with the right wind.

The first call is this Friday morning, the 10th of July. We’ve got a solid 10ft SSW groundswell rolling in with a 13-second period. That’s a lot of water moving, and the combined energy is strong at 3669. The wind is offshore from the WSW, so the conditions are clean. This is serious stuff though – that size is only for experienced surfers. It’s a point break, so it should handle that long period better than a beach break, shaping up nicely. The water temp is about average for the time of year.

Friday afternoon sees the same 10ft swell, but the wind swings to a cross-offshore from the SW. It’s still clean, but the energy drops a touch to 3098. Still a very good session for the crew who know what they’re doing.

Saturday morning, the 11th, the swell is dropping to 8ft, but the wind is onshore from the east. It’s a bit of a messy affair. Saturday afternoon is the same story. Not worth getting excited about.

Sunday, the 12th, the swell is down to 5ft and 5ft, but the wind is onshore again. Sunday morning has a cross-on wind, and Sunday afternoon is a write-off with a fresh 19 mph onshore breeze. Skip it.

Monday morning, the 13th, is a real tease. The swell is only 4ft, but the wind is glassy, dead calm. The water is clean as a whistle. The energy is weak at 291, so it’s a small wave day, but if you’ve got a longboard, it’s a beautiful, quiet session.

Tuesday the 14th is tiny, with 3ft and 2ft. Not worth the trip.

Wednesday the 15th starts flat, but then Wednesday afternoon throws a curveball. 5ft of short-period SW windswell (6 second period) blows in with a clean offshore wind. It’s a bit of a weak, lumpy option, but it’s rideable.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Thursday morning, the 16th of July. The swell jumps back up to 7ft from the SSW, with a 14-second period. The combined energy is strong at 1641, and the wind is light offshore from the west. This is clean, powerful, and for the experts again. The wave quality is excellent.

The next standout is a bit further out. On Thursday the 24th of July, we have a Friday morning with 6ft of SW swell, 14-second period, and glassy conditions. The energy is strong at 1238. It’s a beautiful, clean setup, but the real monster is that Friday afternoon. The swell absolutely detonates to 16ft from the SW with a 14-second period. The combined energy is a massive 10091. That is a serious, powerful groundswell. The wind is onshore from the ENE, which will make it a mess, but the raw power is unbelievable. That’s for hardy, expert chargers only.

Then to top it off, Saturday morning the 25th of July looks exceptional. 12ft of SSW groundswell with a 16-second period – that’s very long period. The combined energy is 6757, and it’s glassy. For expert surfers, that is the session of the outlook. The point break will handle that long period beautifully.

The best of the best? Thursday morning the 16th for a clean, powerful, expert session, and Saturday morning the 25th for the glassy, long-period bomb. The 24th afternoon is a monster, but the wind ruins it for paddle surfing. If you’re an expert, keep those dates locked in. For the rest of the time, there’s a lot of small, windy, or just average days. The first week has some good windows, but the second week has the real power.

Rusty.

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