Third Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. The outlook for Third Reef is a real grind. For the next couple of weeks, we've got waves, but the wind is just our enemy—mostly cross-onshore or onshore, ruining what could be fun.

Let's kick off with Saturday afternoon, September 12. We’ve got a 3ft swell from the SW with a 14-second period—that's a long-period groundswell with moderate energy (525). But the wind is onshore from the WNW at 9 mph, and it's tagged as "poor surf conditions." Not the way you want to start.

Sunday the 13th morning is more of the same: 2ft and poor. The afternoon bumps up to 5ft from the WNW, but a fresh 19 mph cross-onshore from the NW makes it lumpy with strong energy (619). That's going to be a messy, blown-out wall.

Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th are a repeat: waves from 4ft to 7ft, but always with that cross-onshore wind. The energy is moderate to strong (424 to 757), but the quality is terrible. Tuesday afternoon gets a 2 out of 10 rating—marginal—but the wind is still cross-onshore.

Now, here's a little glimmer. Wednesday afternoon, September 16. We get glassy conditions, a light air from the WNW at just 3 mph. The swell drops to 4ft from the NW with an 8-second period. It's a short-period wind swell, so the waves will be a bit crumbly, but with no wind, it'll be clean. The report says "expect good surf conditions." This is your best bet in the whole outlook, but it's still only scoring a 2 out of 10, so don't get too excited. The water temp is about average for this time of year, around 60°, and the anomaly of 2° is noticeable but not wild.

Thursday the 17th afternoon is another one to note. The swell drops to 2ft, but it swings to the SSW with a very long 16-second period. That’s a proper groundswell, and the wind turns light cross-offshore from the S. It'll be clean, but tiny.

From Friday the 18th through the end of the outlook, it's a frustrating mix. We get some long-period SW groundswell (18-19 seconds) with moderate to strong energy (399 to 920), but the wind is almost always cross-onshore or onshore. Friday the 18th morning has a 2ft, 19-second SW swell with a light onshore wind, but it's still marginal. With that long period at a reef break like Third Reef, the waves might break too straight and be less fun than at a point break.

There are no true standouts here, folks. The Wednesday afternoon glass-off is the closest thing to a decent session, but it's small. For the experts, the bigger days (5ft to 7ft) might offer some power, but you'll be battling the chop. This is a "check the cams and be ready to be disappointed" kind of forecast.

Rusty, signing off.

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