Third Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s get into it.

First off, I’ll be straight with you – this 16-day window at Third Reef starts out pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of poor surf, thanks to a persistent cross-onshore wind from the NW that’s just chopping everything up. For the first four days, Friday the 10th through Monday the 13th, the swell is small – around 2ft to 5ft from the SSW or NW – and the energy is weak to moderate (around 414-875), but the wind is ruining any chance of a clean wave. It’s a write-off. Tuesday the 14th afternoon shows a slight lift to 5ft, but still cross-on and only marginal. Wednesday the 15th and Thursday the 16th see the swell pick up to 6ft-7ft, and the energy climbs into the strong range (698-979), but again, the wind is cross-onshore, so it’s just messy and poor for paddling. This setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Then, Friday the 17th morning brings a glimmer – the wind finally swings to WNW at 6 mph, going onshore, with a 3ft swell from the WNW at a long 17-second period. The energy is strong (919). It’s only marginal, but that long period groundswell could offer some shape at a reef break like this, and the light breeze means it won’t be too choppy. Still, it’s not a standout.

We hit a proper gap in quality from the 18th to the 20th – just small, messy waves with light cross-onshore winds. Nothing to get excited about.

Now, here’s the one true standout in this whole outlook. On Tuesday the 21st of July, in the afternoon, the wind drops to glassy – absolutely dead calm – with a 3ft swell from the SSW at a period of 15 seconds. The energy is moderate (487). For a reef break like Third Reef, that long-period groundswell with glassy conditions will produce clean, playful waves. The crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so you might have a few others out, but it’ll be worth it. This is the best on offer.

Into the final week, Wednesday the 22nd and Thursday the 23rd morning stay marginal with cross-on wind, but Thursday the 23rd afternoon hits another highlight: glassy conditions again, with a 7ft swell from the NW at 9 seconds. That’s a solid size – over 8ft, so it’s for experts only – and the energy is strong (852). The wind is glassy, so those waves will be clean and powerful. It’s a proper reef slab with that NW swell, but the period is short, so it might be a bit walled-up. Still, a standout for experienced surfers.

Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th, the wind swings back to a moderate cross-onshore, ruining the 6ft-7ft swell. Back to poor conditions.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a dud. The one standout you want to circle is Tuesday the 21st afternoon for clean, small waves. The second standout is Thursday the 23rd afternoon for bigger, glassy but expert-only surf. Everything else is marginal or poor.

Rusty.

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