Cray Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Hawkes Bay, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Cray Bay Surf Guide

Cray Bay in Hawkes Bay is a fairly exposed beach and reef break that has fairly consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the northwest. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the best swell direction is from the southeast. The beach break offers both left and right hand waves and there is also a left hand reef break.. Best around mid tide. It very rarely gets crowded here. Submerged rocks are a hazard.

Cray Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	4	fairly consistent	15.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Cray Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Cray Bay occur when a East swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Cray Bay (for consistent clean waves)?

mayBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Cray Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of May. Clean surfable waves are typically found 14% of the time in May while 19% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 67% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

14%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

19%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

67%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Cray Bay Location Map

Interactive Cray Bay surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Cray Bay is Palmerston North Airport (PMR) in New Zealand, 129 km (80 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Cray Bay is Taupo Airport (TUO), also in New Zealand, 146 km (91 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Cray Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 21:47 Local Time

m, °C	Tue	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	9PM	0AM	3AM	6AM
Wave (m)	S	S	S	SSW
Period (s)	15	15	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

What does Cray Bay look like?

Latest photos from Cray Bay. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Will Henderson Credit: Hunter Carney Credit: Hunter Carney Credit: Hunter Carney Credit: Hunter Carney

Tides at Cray Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Cray Bay, 0 km from Cray Bay.

Next High Water: 08:47am | 1.33m

Next Low Water: 02:47am | 0.27m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Cray Bay Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.5 °C) at Cray Bay is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (13.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.