Vetchs Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking straight at the local outlook for Vetchs Reef – a tricky little reef setup that rarely breaks, so when it even shows up on the radar, you take notice. Right now, water temp is sitting at 70°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, anomaly under one degree, so nothing wild there.

Right off the bat, the next couple of days are a write-off. Sunday afternoon through to Tuesday afternoon is all marginal to poor – small swell, meagre energy, and the wind is mostly cross or onshore, sometimes cross-off but still weak. The combined energy is low, mostly below 250 (250), so honestly, don’t bother. There’s a solid gap with no real surf on offer here until Wednesday morning.

Wednesday morning, September 2nd, we finally get a tiny window: glassy conditions with a light ESE breeze, swell dropping to 3 ft from the east, 9-second period, and combined energy of just 94 (94). It’s surfable but very ordinary – not worth a special trip unless you’re desperate for a slide.

Now, Thursday September 3rd morning sees a small bump in height to 5 ft from the ENE, but the period is short at 8 seconds and the cross-shore wind is bumping it up to messy. Then Thursday afternoon goes bonkers – 10 ft ENE swell, but 25 mph cross-onshore winds and a combined energy of 1122 (1122) – that’s big, unruly, and frankly only for the kamikaze crew. Choppy and dangerous.

Friday and Saturday, September 4th and 5th, are back to small, poor conditions with cross-shore or onshore wind and weak energy. The swell is tiny, mostly under 3 ft, and there’s light rain on Saturday. Not much to get excited about.

Sunday September 6th is clean but tiny – 2 ft east swell, cross-off wind, but the energy is only 108 (108). It’s basically a flat day with a ripple.

Monday September 7th is a complete write-off: no swell, near gale winds, heavy rain. Don’t even go near the water.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Tuesday September 8th afternoon: a massive pulse of 12 ft from the ESE at 14 seconds, combined energy 4167 (4167) – very strong, powerful groundswell. But the wind is howling 25 mph from the south, cross-shore, making it messy. This is still a challenge.

Wednesday September 9th is the first real standout. Morning: 12 ft ESE swell, 14-second period, 4518 (4518) energy, and cross-off winds from the southwest at 22 mph. It’s clean! The afternoon stays clean with 10 ft ESE at 13 seconds, 3264 (3264) energy. This is big, powerful, and for advanced surfers only. Beginners should stay well clear – this is heavy, solid reef territory.

The best window is Thursday September 10th morning. We get 7 ft ESE swell, 12-second period, combined energy 1271 (1271), and light cross-off winds from the SSW at 6 mph. That’s glassy, clean, and powerful. The swell direction (ESE) matches the optimum NE direction for Vetchs Reef reasonably well, and the period is solid. This is the pick of the whole forecast – excellent conditions for experienced surfers. The afternoon turns onshore, so don’t sleep on that morning.

After that, things drop off fast. Friday September 11th and Saturday September 12th are back to small, choppy, and poor. Sunday September 13th sees a weird 6 ft ENE windswell with a 6-second period – messy, onshore, not worth it.

The rest of the run into Monday September 14th is tiny and poor, with cross-off wind but no real energy.

Bottom line: Don’t bother until Wednesday September 9th. The real standout is Thursday September 10th morning – glassy, 7 ft ESE groundswell, clean, and powerful. That’s your session. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too gnarly for anyone but the diehards.

Rusty.

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