Vetchs Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s on the table for Vetchs Reef over the next 16 days. I’ll level with you straight up – there’s nothing good on offer. The whole stretch from July 8th through July 23rd is a flat, messy story. The reef rarely breaks anyway, and this run is no exception. We don’t have a single session that’s worth paddling out for, so you’re better off keeping the board in the car and checking back another time.

A quick look at the water: it’s sitting at 72°F, which is pretty normal for this time of year – no weird anomalies happening. But that’s about the only thing that’s average. The swell energy is weak to moderate at best, with combined energy values bouncing between 24 and 462 over the period. Even when the numbers climb, the winds kill it – cross-on, onshore, or gusty. There’s a brief moment on July 12th Sunday morning where the swell hits 5 ft and energy reaches 172, but it’s from the ESE with a period of just 6 seconds and onshore winds of 12 mph. That’s a choppy, blown-out mess, not surfable. Sunday afternoon goes glassy with 3 ft and only 76 in energy, but the wave comment says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” – still a low score, and the break is advanced-only when it works. Too small and weak for any real juice.

Later on, July 15th Wednesday morning has 5 ft from the east at 9 seconds, energy 397 – looks promising on paper, but winds are cross-on from the NE at 6 mph and the wave comment is “marginal”. Same story on July 21st Tuesday morning with 5 ft NE swell at 7 seconds, 363 energy, cross-off wind from the SSW at 12 mph, clean but period is short and the break rarely turns on. Still only a 1/10. Basically, every time the swell shows a pulse, the direction is off or the wind ruins it. No standout, no hidden gem.

So take the next two weeks off from Vetchs. It’s a blank run. If you’re desperate, maybe the glassy Sunday afternoon on July 12th or the clean Tuesday morning on July 21st could offer a tiny window for an advanced surfer who knows the reef, but I wouldn’t call it good surf – just less terrible.

Rusty.

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