Whangamata Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and here’s the local surf picture for Whangamata Beach. This 16-day run starts slow, then hits a big flat spell, before finally offering a couple of clean windows and a proper big-swell day for the experts.

Tuesday afternoon, July 28th, it’s glassy with 1ft from the ESE, 13-second period, but the energy is weak (64) and it’s called poor surf. Not worth it.

Wednesday, July 29th, morning sees a clean 2ft from the E, 13 seconds, cross-off wind, energy 91 – surfable but very ordinary. The afternoon is glassy with 2ft E, 13 seconds, 85 energy – still very ordinary.

Thursday, July 30th, is a bust. Morning has 2ft E with a cross wind, afternoon gets a 20 km/h NNW cross-on that chops it up.

Friday, July 31st, morning shows 3ft from the N, but a short 7-second period, energy 174, cross-off wind – clean but messy. The afternoon drops to 2ft E, 11 seconds, 130 energy, with a 25 km/h cross-off wind – still poor.

Then a real dry patch from Saturday, August 1st right through to Saturday, August 8th. The swell mostly sits at 0.7ft to 2ft, with energy in the teens to low 60s. The wind is often clean or offshore, but the waves are just too small. On the morning of August 7th, there’s 5ft from the E, 6 seconds, 220 energy, but it’s poor. The afternoon of the 7th gets 7ft from the E, 7 seconds, 554 energy, again poor with a cross wind and short period – a lot of water but rubbish shape.

Now the standout. Saturday morning, August 8th – 10ft of swell from the ENE, 8-second period, and a massive 1274 energy – strong to very strong. The wind is a light SSW at 10 km/h, cross-off, and clean. The comment says “expect very good surf conditions.” This is the best on offer, but over 8ft, it’s strictly for experts. The short period means it’ll be punchy and a bit lumpy at the beach break. The water temp is 59°, normal for the time of year (anomaly of 0.3°).

The afternoon of the 8th still has 10ft from the E, 9 seconds, 1517 energy, but a cross wind makes it more marginal.

Sunday, August 9th, drops to 4ft E, 8 seconds, 252 energy – surfable but ordinary. Monday, August 10th, is 4ft NE, 8 seconds, 261 energy, with a cross-off in the morning and cross-on in the afternoon.

Tuesday, August 11th, morning is a clean 3ft from the ENE, 9 seconds, 291 energy, with a light cross-off wind. The afternoon goes glassy, 3ft E, 9 seconds, 315 energy – “expect good surf conditions.” Nice and clean for intermediates.

Wednesday, August 12th, morning is glassy, 5ft from the ENE, 10 seconds, 584 energy – “expect good surf conditions.” The afternoon gets 5ft ENE, 10 seconds, 504 energy, but the wind goes onshore, making it marginal.

The 11th and 12th are the other little highlight – clean, lined-up waves, but they’re a week and a half out, so keep an eye on it. Crowds at Whangamata Beach are “sometimes,” so expect a few others out on the clean days.

So, forget the first week. The big expert day is August 8th for the 10ft swell. Then the 11th and 12th offer clean 3ft to 5ft waves for a good paddle.

Rusty.

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