Bay of Plenty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break it down. The Bay of Plenty is taking its time to get going, but there’s some real gold in there. Saturday morning starts with a tiny 3 ft east swell, glassy as can be with a 3 mph NE breeze. The water’s at a warm 72°, pretty normal for the season, so you’ll be fine in a shorty. The combined energy is weak at 335, so no power, but it’s clean.

Sunday morning is the real deal. Swell jumps to 6 ft from the SSE, still glassy, and the energy hits 966 (moderate). That’s a fun, clean wave for the average surfer, and the wind is light offshore. This is the best window of the whole forecast. The afternoon holds the same size but the wind swings cross-on, so it’ll get a bit messy.

Monday brings a bigger 7 ft SSE swell, but the wind is cross-shore and the conditions are marginal. The energy is strong at 1421, but the chop will ruin it. Tuesday and Wednesday fade with smaller swell and more wind. By Thursday the 23rd, the swell drops to 2 ft, and the wind is cross at 16 mph from the SSW. That’s a poor call, and the next few days are a bust.

Friday the 24th sees a new S swell fill in, with 4 ft in the morning and 5 ft by the afternoon, but the wind is messy. The period is 14-16 seconds, so it’s a proper groundswell. The energy is strong at 1198. Saturday the 25th holds 4-5 ft S swell with a long 17-19 second period, energy at 1270. The wind is cross from the south, so it’s not perfect, but for a point or reef, that long period could wrap in nicely. It’s a hope for the patient.

The next week drops off. Sunday the 26th through the 30th is mostly poor, with small swell and onshore or cross winds. The standout in the second week is Saturday the 1st of August. That morning is a beauty: 7 ft S swell, glassy wind from the SSE at 3 mph, and the energy is moderate at 876. The conditions are very good, but the swell is over 5 ft, so if you’re a beginner, it’s too much. The direction is from the south, which suits the Bay of Plenty’s optimum SE swell direction pretty well. Clean 7 ft surf with an offshore breath is a dream.

The afternoon of the 1st gets ruined by a 19 mph south wind, so go early.

The last day on the 2nd of August has a 8 ft NE windswell, but it’s onshore and lumpy, and at 8 ft by the afternoon with fresh onshore wind, it’s more of a kite-surfing day than a paddle session.

Overall, the best shot is the morning of Sunday the 19th of July, with glassy conditions and a fun 6 ft SSE swell. The second-best is the morning of Saturday the 1st of August, with clean 7 ft surf. The rest of the two weeks is a mixed bag of small, choppy, or overly windy days.

Rusty.

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