Third Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve been staring at the charts for Third Reef and I gotta be straight with you — it’s a rough stretch ahead. We’ve got a 16-day window, and the first real surf worth paddling out for doesn’t show up until Sunday the 19th. Before that, it’s a whole lot of nothing. From Wednesday the 15th all the way through Saturday the 18th, the conditions are just plain poor — cross-onshore winds, choppy, weak little waves. You’d be wasting your time.

Now, Sunday morning the 19th is where we get a little glimmer. The wind goes glassy, dead calm, and we’ve got a 4ft swell from the NW with a short period of 8 seconds. It’s a small, clean wave — nothing special, but it’s the best we’ve seen. The combined energy is moderate at 609, so there’s a bit of push. The water temp is sitting at 54°, which is about 1° cooler than average for this time of year — nothing wild, just a bit nippy. Third Reef is a reef break, exposed to WNW swell, and the optimum direction is WNW, so that NW swell is in the right ballpark. It’s fairly consistent, and crowds are only sometimes a problem, so there’s a chance you’ll have it to yourself. This is the standout of the whole period, but it’s still a small, short-period wave — good for a cruise, not a thumping session.

Tuesday the 22nd afternoon offers another glassy moment, with a 2ft swell from the SSW, period 14 seconds (longer period, more energy per wave), and combined energy of 275 — weak. It’s clean but tiny. You’d need a longboard and a lot of patience.

Then we get to Friday the 24th afternoon. That’s the real standout for the experienced crew. The swell jumps to 3ft from the SW, but the period is a massive 24 seconds — that’s very long-period groundswell, and for a reef like Third Reef, that’s a treat. The combined energy hits 1325, which is strong. The wind goes glassy, and the conditions are described as excellent for experienced surfers. This is the one to circle on the calendar. It’s two weeks out, so it’s promising but not locked in, but if it comes together, it’ll be the best wave of the whole outlook.

The days after that — Saturday the 25th through to Wednesday the 30th — are mostly marginal or poor, with messy cross-onshore winds and weak, short-period swells. Nothing worth getting excited about.

So bottom line: Sunday the 19th morning for a clean, small glassy session, and Friday the 24th afternoon for the experienced crew looking for a long-period, glassy gem. The rest is a write-off.

Rusty.

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