Riviera Shorebreak Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey, Rusty here again. Let’s break down Riviera Shorebreak in feet and miles per hour.

Honestly, the next couple weeks are a bit of a rollercoaster. This spot is a finicky one – it rarely breaks, so we need everything to line up. The water is sitting at 32°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, and it’s actually pretty pleasant.

The first real chance you get isn’t until Wednesday, the 2nd of September. We’ve got a building SW swell, hitting about 5ft in the morning, pushing to about 6ft by the afternoon with a 12-second period. The wave energy is ramping up from moderate (744) to strong (1237). The issue is the wind is cross-onshore, and the forecast is just a marginal one with tide headaches – a real gamble.

Thursday the 3rd looks better in the morning with a light offshore breeze from the WSW at 3 mph. The swell drops to 3ft, but the period jumps to a very long 18 seconds – that’s pure groundswell, with strong energy (1169). That long period can make it a bit fat and straight on a beach break, but it’s the first chance for a clean wave. The afternoon gets choppy again, so the morning window is your only shot.

Friday the 4th is a similar tune – 4ft of SW swell with that long 16-second period, but stronger winds spoil the afternoon. The morning offshore window is your only chance.

Here’s the standout. Saturday morning, the 5th of September. This is the session. We have a clean 4ft SW swell with a 16-second period. The wind is the game-changer though – it’s glassy. Dead calm. The water will be like a mirror. The energy is still strong (1178), and this is excellent for experienced surfers. The long period means longer waits between sets, but the waves will have real power and shape. Crowds are listed as "sometimes", so you might see a few others, but for a spot that rarely breaks, this is the one.

After that, it’s a slow drop. The swell fades through the rest of the first week and into the second, sitting around 2ft to 3ft. The wind is often onshore or cross-onshore, making most of it poor or just marginal. There’s a brief window on Monday the 7th afternoon with a clean offshore breeze and 3ft of SW swell from the ENE at 6 mph, but the energy is low (446), and thunderstorms are a worry.

The second week, from the 9th onwards, is pretty bleak. Tiny swell, lousy winds, and a lot of “poor surf conditions” labels – it’s a flat spell. There is a tiny glimmer on Monday the 14th morning with a clean 1ft, 18-second period groundswell and some cross-off wind, but that’s barely enough for a spot that’s already inconsistent.

So here’s the short of it: aim for Saturday morning, the 5th of September. That’s the glass-off, groundswell window for clean, solid lines for the experienced crew. The rest is patience.

Rusty.

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