Third Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s shaping up for Third Reef.

The next couple of days are a bit of a tease, with small, clean waves but nothing really pushing. The real action starts to build towards the end of the week and into the second week. The standouts are Thursday 10th and Friday 11th, where the conditions just line up perfectly for some proper fun.

Kicking off today, Tuesday the 1st, we’ve got small swell from the SSW around 3ft with a decent 13-second period. The morning is a bit crossed-up with a light southerly breeze, but by the afternoon it cleans right up, turning cross-off. It’s very weak energy (322) though, so it’s small and pretty gutless.

Wednesday the 2nd sees a drop in height to 2ft in the morning, but the period jumps to 18 seconds and energy hits 443 – that’s long-period groundswell trying to push in. The wind is moderate though, and by the afternoon it gets a bit choppy and messy with rain. Hard to get excited.

Thursday the 3rd is better. Morning has 3ft at 19 seconds, with a massive energy spike (915) – that’s moderate-to-strong energy, and the long period means proper shape. Light wind keeps it clean. The afternoon pushes to 5ft from the WNW (11s), wind is light, but it’s still a bit crossing. That long period makes this spot work best on the reef; it might break a little straight at the beach.

Friday the 4th gets bigger – 6ft from the NW in the morning with 1315 energy, but the wind is onshore from the WNW. That’s clean-ish but not ideal. The afternoon stays lumpy with cross-on wind. That’s a lot of water moving but the wind doesn’t do it any favours.

Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th bring clean, small SSW swell back – around 3ft with 15–16 seconds. Light onshore winds from the west keep it rideable but not glassy. Energy stays moderate (572–769). It’s okay, but nothing to write home about.

Monday the 7th is poor – small, messy, cross-on wind. Tuesday the 8th has 5ft but with a horrible 7-second windswell period and strong NNW winds – pure chop. Pass.

Now here’s where it gets good. Thursday the 10th: the afternoon turns absolutely glassy – zero wind, with 3ft of beautiful 17-second SW groundswell. Energy is strong at 757. That’s the kind of evening you’ll want to be in the water. The reef will handle that long period beautifully.

Friday the 11th is another cracker: afternoon again, glassy, 3ft at 16 seconds from the SW, energy at 611. Clean, lined up, and easy paddling.

Saturday the 12th afternoon gets interesting too – glassy conditions with 6ft from the NW, but the period drops to 8 seconds, so it’s a bit more of a windswell pulse. Still, with no wind, it’ll be fun.

Monday the 14th afternoon pushes 6ft from the NW at 12 seconds, energy over 1100 – that’s proper groundswell. The wind is light cross-on, so not perfect, but there will be some solid waves.

Tuesday the 15th afternoon: glassy again, 6ft NW at 8 seconds. Again, punchy but short period.

Overall, the best on offer is Thursday 10th and Friday 11th – both afternoons with glassy conditions and long-period SSW groundswell in the 3ft range. It’s not huge, but it’ll be clean, well-shaped, and with that energy (600–750), there’s enough grunt. The water temp is about 57°F, which is a touch below the norm for this time – nothing crazy, just a little cooler.

Third Reef is a reef setup, fairly consistent, and it can get crowded sometimes. The optimum swell direction is WNW, so those NW pulses on the 4th and 14th are also worth watching, but the wind isn’t as kind.

Stay sharp, and get out there on those glassy afternoons.
Rusty.

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