Vetchs Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. There’s only one spot on the table for the next 16 days, and it’s a tricky one.

We’re looking at Vetchs Reef. This is a reef break that *rarely breaks*, so any wave we get here is a bit of a gift. It’s exposed, and it loves swell from the NE. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing too wild.

The window kicks off on Sunday, August 2nd, and it’s a big one. We’ve got a serious 10ft SE swell rolling in, with a period of 12 seconds. That’s proper groundswell, and the combined energy is a massive 2416 – that’s a lot of power. The wind is a cross-off from the SSW, so the face should be clean. The problem is, this is a reef, and for most of us, 10ft is expert territory. It’s big, powerful, and a rare break. If you’re not rock-solid, give it a wide berth.

Monday the 3rd drops a bit to 7ft from the SE, period of 11 seconds, still solid energy at 1107. The wind goes cross (S 3 mph), so it’s glassy and clean. A more manageable size, but still solid. The morning session is the pick.

Tuesday the 4th sees the swell dropping to 5ft, but the wind turns cross-on from the NE. The quality starts to fade. By Wednesday the 5th, we’re down to 3ft and the wind is on it. The energy drops to 222, and it’s not looking fun.

From Thursday the 6th through to the end of the first week, it’s grim. The swell drops below 3ft, and even though the wind goes cross-off a few times, the energy is in the double digits. Not worth paddling out.

We hit a dry spell. Nothing worth mentioning from the 8th to the 15th of August. The reef is flat or blown out. The wind is mostly onshore, and the swell is small and weak.

The only glimmer in the second week is on Tuesday, August 11th – morning session. We get a 3ft ENE swell, period 9 seconds, but the wind is cross-off from the SSW. It’s clean, and the energy is 188. It’s small, but it’s the best we’ll see in that stretch. Keep your expectations low.

The rest of the run into the 17th is mostly poor, with onshore winds and weak, short-period swell. The 17th sees a 4ft NE swell with a period of only 4 seconds – that’s windswell, messy and weak.

Standout call: The standout is Sunday the 2nd of August at Vetchs Reef. It’s the biggest, cleanest, and most powerful swell of the entire window. The 10ft SE groundswell with cross-off wind is a rare combo for a rarely-breaking reef. That’s the one to circle on the calendar. If you’re an expert, go get it. The morning will be the cleanest.

Stay safe, and don’t be a hero on that 10ft day if you’re not ready.

- Rusty

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