Vetchs Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m Rusty, and I’m looking at this 16-day stretch for Vetchs Reef. Gotta level with you—this one’s a real bummer. The whole forecast is a washout, so let’s get into it.

Vetchs Reef is a reef break that’s for advanced surfers only, and it rarely breaks. The first possible surf shows up Wednesday, 19 August, but it’s nothing to write home about—swell is a puny 0.9m from the east, period a weak 9 seconds, and the wind is cross-on from the NE at 15 km/h. The water’s at 22°, which is about average for this time of year. The combined energy is weak (117), and it’s just choppy and messy. That’s the theme for the whole run.

From the 19th all the way to 3 September, every single entry is “poor surf conditions” with a score of 0, so there’s a gap of over two weeks with nothing worthwhile. Swell heights bounce around from 0.3m to 2.5m, but the wind is almost always cross-on, cross, or cross-off, and the waves are either choppy, lumpy, or just plain weak. A few times the wind goes cross-off, like Thursday 20 August afternoon or Saturday 22 August afternoon, but the swell is tiny—0.6m to 0.9m—and the energy is low (36 to 81). Not enough to get stoked about.

The bigger swells come in late August and early September. On Sunday 30 August afternoon, we see 2.5m from the ENE with a period of 7 seconds, and the combined energy hits 572, which is moderate to strong. But the wind is cross-on at 20 km/h, and it’s “moderate cross-onshore and choppy.” That’s a blown-out mess. Monday 31 August has 2.4m to 2.5m from the ENE, with energy up to 804, but again, cross-on winds at 25 to 35 km/h. Fresh cross-onshore and lumpy. For a reef break, that’s just ugly and dangerous. The period is short (7-8 seconds), so it’s a windswell, not a proper groundswell.

The only half-decent look is Tuesday, 1 September morning: 1.5m from the east, period of 9 seconds, and the wind goes cross-off from the SSW at 25 km/h. The energy is 355, moderate. The “clean” description is there, but the swell’s still a bit big for beginners (over 1.5m), and the reef is rarely breaking anyway. For an advanced surfer, it might be worth a look if the wind holds, but it’s not a standout. The period is only 9 seconds—not that long.

Then Thursday, 3 September morning has a marginal 1.0m from the east with a period of 9 seconds, light offshore wind from the ESE at 10 km/h, and energy of 216. The “marginal” call is the best we get, but the afternoon goes back to choppy cross-on junk.

So, no true standout here. The reef is inconsistent, and the conditions are persistently poor. If you’re a kite surfer, the bigger swells (2.5m) with strong cross-onshore winds later in the period might be more interesting than paddle surfing. But for a wave rider, this is a blank run. It happens here sometimes—forecasts can change.

Rusty.

Read more