Fletchers Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports
(Nelson – West Coast, New Zealand)
- Forecast
- Maps
- Live
- Weather State
- Spot Information

Fletchers Beach Surf Guide
Fletchers Beach in Nelson - West Coast is a reasonably exposed beach break that has reasonably consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds are from the south southwest with some shelter here from south winds. Easily blown out by an onshore breeze Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the best swell direction is from the west northwest. The beach breaks consists of lefts and also offers a left hand point break too. Best around mid tide when the tide is falling. Even when there are waves, it's not likley to be crowded. Hazards include rips and rocks.
Fletchers Beach Spot Info
Type: | Rating: |
---|---|
Reliability: | Todays Sea Temp*: |
fairly consistent | 15.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite |
Surfing Fletchers Beach:
The best conditions reported for surf at Fletchers Beach occur when a West-northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South-southwest.
What's the best time of year to surf Fletchers Beach (for consistent clean waves)?
Explore Fletchers Beach Location Map
Interactive Fletchers Beach 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 Fletchers Beach is Nelson Airport (NSN) in New Zealand, 98 km (61 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Fletchers Beach is Woodbourne Airport (BHE), also in New Zealand, 149 km (93 miles) away.

Sunday, 29 May 2022, 09:16 Local Time
Sunday 29 | ||||
9AM | 12PM | 3PM | 6PM | |
Wave (m) | ||||
Period (s) | 18 | 18 | 17 | 7 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||
Wind State | cross | cross | cross | cross |
Tides at Fletchers Beach
NEXT | IS AT (local time) | remaining |
---|---|---|
high tide | ||
low tide |
Swell History at Fletchers Beach
Surf stats for Fletchers Beach, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.
Wind History at Fletchers Beach
Wind stats for Fletchers Beach, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.
Fletchers Beach Reviews:
Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.
Like all Nelson West Coast waves Fletchers is fickle, needing wind, tide and swell to cooperate. In its favour, it faces due north which means it has a fair proportion of SW offshore days. Because the prevailing Tasman Sea swell is also from the SW, Fletchers is less exposed than any of the other breaks in the region apart from Fossil Point (head here if Fletchers is clean but too big).
Since this swell is often too big for more exposed breaks, this shelter is a good thing making Fletchers and nearby Pillar Point the only surfabale waves this side of Westport when a medium to large Tasman Sea swell is running.
Fletchers likes a SW swell of between 1m (will be knee to waist) and 3m (will be just overhead). Any bigger than that and there will generally be too much surging water as the swell hits the coast almost sideways here. In big swells you sometimes see waves peeling vast distances over sandbars far offshore but you would really need boat support to take these on.
Like most breaks in this region, waves break left (perhaps not in a NW swell - I have never checked).
It's best at about mid-tide when waves peel from an obvious 5m high rock below sheer cliffs at the west side. Waves peel right across the bay, allowing rides of 100m+.
As the tide rises, backwash from the cliffs increases and getting in and out of the water becomes tricky. Low tide can be ok but there is less shelter from any wind.
Sometimes wind and currents make the long paddle back too difficult so a better option is to walk around to the cave mouth for an easier, shorter paddle out. On big days, take care not to ride past the end of the beach as the surging current may prevent you from getting back and exiting on the kelp and mussel encrusted reef here is very sketchy. If things look desperate, it is probably safest to paddle away from the shore and let the wind and rip take you to the base of Farewell Spit. Then walk back along the coast path.
East winds are fairly common here but they make it very choppy. In these conditions, nearby Wharariki is a better bet. West winds are not so bad but ideally wind should be from SE to WSW.”
Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:
Discover surf breaks near Fletchers Beach. Click below to view there surf guides.
- 3km away
- 4km away
- Latest Webcam14km away
- 24km away
- 24km away
Wave Buoys Nearest To Fletchers Beach:
- Closest Wave BuoyGolden Bay Buoy17 mi
- Second closest Wave BuoyFairway Beacon59 mi
- Third closest Wave BuoyTory East Head Buoy98 mi
- Fourth closest Wave BuoyBay of Plenty Buoy285 mi
- Fifth closest Wave BuoyBream Bay Buoy334 mi