Riet River Surf Break

Lat Long: 33.58° S 26.93° E

Riet River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 1 pm 06 Sep 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Riet River sea temperature is
18.0°C
1.3° 

Riet River surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Riet River surf forecast from 6 Sep 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Thursday 10 Sep, 8PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 18s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Sunday 6 Sep, 8PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 18s period, SSW swell with 7,150 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 8 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 12s period with S swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Riet River this week:

The surf forecast for Riet River over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 08) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 12s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Riet River in the next 16 days are 3.5m 18s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 06) at 8PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 4.5m 9s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 13) at 2AM.

Wave TypeTime (SAST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)11AM (Tue 8th Sep)3.5ft (1.1m) 12s
Best Surf 8PM (Thu 10th Sep)4.5ft (1.4m) 18s
Most Powerful 8PM (Sun 6th Sep)11ft (3.5m) 18s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Riet River over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’m looking at the next few weeks at Riet River. It’s a point break that doesn’t fire all that often, and this forecast is a mixed bag with plenty of wind messing things up, but there are a couple of windows where it all comes together. The water temp is sitting around 64°, which is a bit colder than usual for this time of year, so you’ll want a decent wetsuit.

The first week starts with a bit of a tease. Sunday the 6th has a solid 8ft SSW swell with a very long 19-second period pumping in and combined energy hitting 4996 (strong), but with a 16 mph easterly onshore wind, it’s poor. Monday the 7th is worse – strong cross-onshore winds up to 31 mph making a mess of that 7 to 8ft south swell. Not worth paddling out.

Tuesday the 8th is where it gets interesting. Morning brings glassy conditions with zero wind, and the swell drops to 4ft from the south, 12-second period, with combined energy at 485 (moderate). It’s clean and should offer some fun little lines. That morning session is the best of the early days. The afternoon gets a cross-onshore breeze and drops off. Wednesday the 9th morning is glassy again but the swell is tiny at 2ft – barely surfable.

The standout of the whole period shapes up for Monday the 14th. The morning has a clean cross-offshore breeze, 5ft from the ESE with 11-second period and combined energy of 869 (moderate). Conditions look very good. But the real highlight is Monday afternoon – a jump to 10ft SW swell, 10-second period, combined energy of 3553 (strong). It’s a clean cross-offshore breeze, but at that size it’s pushing into expert-only territory. The point should handle it well given the swell direction matches the optimum SSW. That afternoon is the pick of the bunch, but it’s over a week away, so keep an eye on it.

Other than that, the rest is mostly blown out or messy. Tuesday the 15th has a 6 to 7ft SW swell but with a strong cross-onshore wind. Wednesday the 16th afternoon has an 8ft SSE swell with a short 8-second period and clean cross-off wind – could be punchy but the short period makes it less appealing at a point. The last few days of the outlook stay onshore or cross-on with moderate to fresh winds and small to moderate swell.

Given how inconsistent Riet River can be, this run actually has a few usable windows, especially if you’re ready to jump on Tuesday morning the 8th or that Monday the 14th afternoon. The rest? Not much to write home about.

Rusty

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Warm (max 31°C on Wed morning, min 17°C on Sun afternoon). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the ENE on Mon afternoon, calm by Tue morning).

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Moderate rain (total 19mm), heaviest on Fri night. Warm (max 30°C on Wed afternoon, min 16°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (calm on Wed night, strong winds from the E by Fri night).

Sun
6
Monday
7
Tuesday
8
Wednesday
9
Thursday
10
Friday
11
Saturday
12
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
1
1
0
2
0
2
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
2.4
SSW
19
3.5
S
16
2.4
S
14
2
S
14
1.5
S
13
1.1
S
12
0.9
SSW
12
0.7
SW
12
0.6
SW
11
0.5
SSW
14
1.3
WSW
13
0.7
SW
13
1
SSW
19
1.9
SSW
16
1.7
SSW
14
1.5
SSW
13
1.3
SSW
13
1.3
SSW
12
1.3
SSW
12
1.4
SSW
16
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
4265
5455
2441
1617
771
347
230
144
97
116
555
175
708
1811
1095
796
546
443
517
952
Wind (km/h)
25
E
30
ENE
45
ENE
50
ENE
25
NE
0
NNW
20
ENE
15
NE
5
NNW
15
ENE
25
WSW
30
WSW
20
SSW
10
SSW
20
ESE
35
ESE
35
E
40
E
45
E
50
ENE
Wind State
on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
glassy
on
off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-on
on
on
on
on
on
High Tide
00:48AM1.17m
1:30PM1.24m
1:47AM1.32m
2:15PM1.43m
2:29AM1.45m
2:52PM1.60m
3:05AM1.55m
3:25PM1.71m
3:38AM1.60m
3:57PM1.77m
4:09AM1.62m
4:27PM1.77m
4:39AM1.59m
Low Tide
6:29PM0.58m
7:13AM0.43m
7:41PM0.41m
8:01AM0.27m
8:26PM0.24m
8:38AM0.13m
9:04PM0.12m
9:12AM0.03m
9:37PM0.03m
9:42AM-0.03m
10:08PM-0.00m
10:12AM-0.04m
10:37PM0.01m
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
light rain
light rain
mod rain
light rain
light rain
light rain
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:22
6:20
6:20
6:18
6:16
6:16
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:57
5:58
5:58
5:59
6:00
6:00
6:00
 mm
1
4
10
4
1
3
Temp °C
17
17
19
20
19
27
27
26
31
30
26
20
20
18
18
17
17
17
19
20
Feels °C
12
12
12
12
17
28
26
25
31
29
27
17
18
18
17
14
10
11
12
15
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Riet River:

join our community of surf reporters

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website

The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Riet River surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.


Information about the Riet River Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Riet River provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Riet River can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Riet River surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Riet River) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).

Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Riet River may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.

Are you planning a holiday in Eastern Cape (South)? If you are looking for accommodation near Riet River, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Eastern Cape (South), consider staying in Port Alfred which is 5 km (3 miles) away. Other places in and around Eastern Cape (South) where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Grahamstown which is 48 km (30 miles) away, Bisho and Fort Beaufort.

Nearest locationNearest