Third Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. We’ve got a bit of a slow burn ahead here at Third Reef. The first week or so is gonna test your patience, but there’s a glimmer of something better waiting for us late in the window if you’re willing to wait.

Right off the bat, the next few days are pretty grim. We’ve got a persistent cross-onshore wind pattern chop things up with swell sitting mostly between 3.3 ft to 6.9 ft. That moderate wave energy (around 646 to 891 on the energy scale) suggests the ocean has some push, but it’s lumpy and messy. The water temp is sitting right around 59.0°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so nothing unusual there for a dawny.

The first real chance to get excited doesn’t come until Thursday the 17th. The morning is still marginal with tiny 3.9 ft cross-shores, but then Thursday afternoon things switch. We see the wind go glassy and the swell from the SSW is only 2.0 ft, but with a very long period of 16 seconds. That’s classic groundswell energy (moderate energy at 487). For a reef like Third Reef, that long period swell can really wrap in and offer some clean, lined-up waves. It’s small, so it’s not a standout for power, but if you’ve got a log, that glassy afternoon session is the closest thing to nice we’ll see early on.

The next real standout gets promising around Tuesday the 22nd and into Wednesday the 23rd. On Tuesday afternoon, the swell bumps up to a solid 7.9 ft from the NW with a period of 12 seconds and strong energy (1801). The wind is still cross-onshore and light, which is workable, but the real magic looks to be Wednesday afternoon the 23rd. The swell drops slightly to a still solid 6.6 ft from the NW, but the wind shifts to a light cross-offshore from the SE. That will clean the surface right up, giving us some steep, hollow wedges on the reef. That’s the one to circle. The swell is in that expert-friendly zone over 6.6 ft, so if you’re not used to size, watch from the channel.

Thursday the 24th afternoon also looks tidy with a cross-offshore again, but the swell is a touch smaller and less consistent on the energy. The week two action then fades with more onshores and lumpy conditions creeping back in.

So, the long and short of it: if you’re desperate, the glassy Thursday the 17th session will scratch the itch. But the true highlight is Wednesday afternoon the 23rd with that clean, 6.6 ft NW swell and offshore winds. It’s a week and a half away, so keep your fingers crossed the forecast holds, but that's the one that could get the blood pumping.

Stay frothy.

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