Riviera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

Honestly, the next couple of weeks are a bit of a write-off for any proper waves. We’ve got a solid run of small, weak surf on the menu, and most of it is coming from the wrong angle with onshore winds messing it up. There are no standout days, no real windows of quality, so if you’re keen for a paddle, you’re mostly looking at ankle-biters and choppy lines.

The whole span looks pretty flat and uninviting. Right through from Monday the 3rd to Tuesday the 18th, the swell stays in that 1ft to 3ft range, which is just not doing anything for us. The energy in the water is mostly weak, with readings hovering in the 120 to 476 range, and most of the time it’s sitting under 400. That’s not the kind of juice that pushes a decent wave. The winds are mostly onshore or cross-onshore, blowing at 6 to 9 mph, which is enough to keep the surface lumpy and messy. You’ll see the odd glassy moment here and there, but the swell just isn’t there to back it up.

We’re looking at Riviera (Riviera-1) for the whole stretch, and it’s a beginner-friendly, very consistent spot, but that doesn’t help much when there’s no real surf. It’s exposed to the swell, and the optimum direction is from the southwest, which we do get at times, but the size and energy just aren’t there. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing weird there.

If we look at the early part, from Monday the 3rd through the middle of the week, the swell is tiny, 1ft to 2ft, with periods mostly around 13 to 16 seconds. That’s a long-period swell, but it’s got no push behind it. The energy readings are weak to moderate at best, hitting 213 on Monday afternoon but crashing back down to 153 by Tuesday afternoon. The winds are mostly onshore, making it pretty poor. You might get a marginal window on Thursday afternoon when the energy bumps to 201, but it’s still only 2ft and questionable.

Then we get a little pulse of energy around the 7th and 8th, with the swell pushing up to 2ft to 3ft. The period jumps to 19 seconds, which is a very long groundswell, and the energy readings get into the moderate range, hitting 447 on Friday morning. But here’s the thing – it’s still small, and the winds are onshore or cross-onshore at 9 mph. There’s a bit more push, but it’s going to be lumpy and not worth getting excited about. The long period also tends to make beach breaks close out, so it’s not doing us any favours.

The following week, from the 11th onwards, it’s a similar story. Swell stays small, mostly 2ft to 3ft, with periods ranging from 13 to 18 seconds. The energy readings fluctuate, getting up to 476 on Friday the 14th afternoon, but again, it’s poor quality. The winds are mostly cross-onshore from the west or southwest at 6 to 9 mph, keeping things choppy. The best you can hope for is a few cleanish moments on the sets that do come through, but it’s not going to be any kind of session you’d remember.

Honestly, for the next 16 days, there are no good surf options on offer. The swell is just too small and the winds are too messy. The entire stretch is a blank run, which is pretty normal for this area when the southwest swell fails to show up with any real size. It’s a flat, frustrating pattern, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. The setup is more interesting for a kiteboarder or someone just wanting to mess around in the whitewater; for a surfer, it’s a skunk.

Keep the faith, though. Forecasts change.

Rusty.

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