Riviera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer for the stretch ahead.

Look, I’ll be straight with you – the charts are looking pretty grim for Riviera. The whole 16-day window is a bit of a struggle, with next to nothing worth paddling out for. The swell is small and weak, coming from the south-southwest, and the wind is mostly cross-onshore or onshore, messing up what little shape there is. The water is running at 75°F – that’s a massive 8°F warmer than usual for this time of year, which is just bizarre.

For the first week, from Friday the 7th right through to the end of the following week, the story is pretty much the same. Swell hovers around 2ft to 3ft, with periods between 13 and 19 seconds. That long period means there’s groundswell energy, but the combined energy is weak to moderate. The trouble is the wind. It’s never clean. It’s either a gentle cross-onshore breeze making it choppy, or a light onshore wind that’s still not helping. The surf reports all say “poor surf conditions” or “marginal.” There’s no standout day here. Saturday the 15th sees the biggest swell of the period at 4ft from the SSW, but with a stiff cross-onshore breeze, it’s going to be a messy, blown-out mess. For a beginner spot like this, it’s not worth the drive.

The second week bleeds into the same pattern. From Monday the 17th of August right through to Saturday the 22nd, the swell drops back to 2ft to 3ft, and the wind, while it sometimes goes light onshore, is still not giving us the clean, glassy conditions we need. The combined energy drops off. It’s just a flat, windy stretch.

If you’re desperate, the only flicker of hope is the morning of Sunday the 9th or Monday the 10th, when a light onshore wind from the WSW or SW might give you a semi-clean, small wave. But it’s still a 3ft to 3ft wave with a long period, which can be a bit gutless and hard to line up on a beach break. For a beginner, it’s tricky. For anyone else, it’s frustrating.

There’s no real standout here. The whole 16 days is a write-off for decent surf. The break is very consistent, but that doesn’t mean the quality is there. It’s a waiting game. The forecasts can always change, but right now, I’d find something else to do.

Rusty.

Read more