Riviera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's coming down the line.

Alright, so the big picture for the next couple of weeks is pretty quiet. We’ve got a long stretch of small, marginal surf with a whole lot of onshore or cross-onshore wind. It’s going to be a test of patience.

We’re looking at a bit of a rough start. The best we’ve got on offer is Riviera. It's a beginner-friendly break, exposed to the swell. It's very consistent, which is one thing in its favour, but the quality is a struggle.

Tuesday the 7th is the kick-off. You’ll get a long-period groundswell coming from the SSW, delivering waves around 4 ft. The period is a solid 18 seconds, so there’s real energy in the water (837). The water temp is sitting at 68°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The problem is the wind. It’s blowing onshore from the SW at 6 mph. That’s light, but it’s straight onshore. The morning is your only real shot, and even then the forecast calls it marginal. The afternoon turns cross-onshore from the west at 9 mph, and that just chops it up.

Wednesday the 8th is more of the same – 4 ft SSW groundswell with a 16-second period (899). Wind is SSW at 6 mph in the morning, onshore again. It’s just not getting clean.

Thursday the 9th through Tuesday the 15th is a grim run. Swell drops steadily from 3 ft down to 1 ft. The wind stays onshore or cross-onshore, and the combined energy falls from 689 all the way down to 173. It's a lot of messy, small surf.

Now, there’s one tiny window that stands out. On Monday the 13th, the afternoon session at Riviera turns magical for a second. The wind goes glassy, and the swell is 2 ft from the S with a 13-second period (360). The waves will be small, but glassy conditions make anything feel good. That’s the only moment in the first week you could actually call "good".

After that, it’s back to the grind until Saturday the 18th of July. We get a bit of a pulse. The swell bumps back up to 3 ft from the SW, with an 18-second period (514). It's still not big, but the energy is there. The wind is onshore again in the morning, but the afternoon lightens up to a light cross-onshore breeze. It’s a “maybe” session.

Sunday the 19th is about the same, 3 ft from the SW (579) but with a cross-shore wind that might clean it up a fraction.

Bottom line: don't get your hopes up too high too soon. The only true standout is that glassy Monday afternoon session on the 13th. The rest is a waiting game. It’s so small and windy for so long after that it looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. But hey, it’s consistent here, so it won’t stay rubbish forever.

Rusty.

Read more