Riviera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for Riviera over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, the outlook is a bit of a flat patch. There’s no real stand-out swell window in this 16-day run to get properly excited about. The waves will be small and pretty average, so don’t go clearing your calendar for a big session just yet.

Looking at the first real chance of a wave, it starts on Friday, August 28th. Early morning there's a small 3ft SSW groundswell, with a long period of 17 seconds, giving a moderate energy reading (515). The wind is light and onshore from the SW, so it’ll be a bit bumpy. It's marginal, to be honest – more of a learner's cruise than anything special. That water temperature is sitting at 74°, which is about 6° warmer than usual, so it's very unusual for this time of year – a real treat if you're going for a paddle. The Saturday morning (August 29th) sees a slight increase to a 4ft SSW swell, still with that long period (17 seconds). Wave energy bumps up a notch (758), but the wind swings cross-onshore in the arvo, killing the quality. These longer period swells will produce clean lines on the right points and reefs, but at a beach break like Riviera, they can sometimes just wall up and close out. It's beginner-friendly size though.

There's a gap of poor conditions from Monday, August 31, right through to Wednesday, September 2, with very small, chopped-out surf you can basically ignore. Thursday, September 3rd morning shows a little 3ft SSW swell with a shorter period (12 seconds), but the wind stays onshore, so it’s still a messy one.

The next flicker of something happens on Friday, September 4th. We get another 3ft SSW swell, but this time it's back to a nice long 17-second period, with energy climbing to 916. Light onshore winds early again though. It's still marginal, not a clean top-to-bottom day.

From Saturday, September 5th, onwards, it's a long stretch of small, cross-onshore junk. Conditions are pretty consistently poor, with moderate breezes and choppy water. The energy stays moderate for some sessions (e.g., 662 on Thursday the 10th, 770 in the arvo), but the waves are small and ugly. The period drops to a mediocre 11-12 seconds, and the wind ruins any chance of a clean wave.

Basically, for the next 16 days, Riviera is not the spot. The one or two slightly better windows (Friday the 28th and Friday the 4th) are still only marginal at best. There are no standout days. If you’re desperate for a paddle, the bigger, longer-period swells have enough grunt if you're a beginner, but don't expect any magic. Crows are possible here sometimes, but honestly, I doubt many will be out for this.

Rusty.

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