Karekare Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Karekare's got cookin' over the next couple of weeks.

Alright, so we're starting off with a bit of a waiting game. The surf is pretty average for the first few days. Wednesday the 5th is a washout with a messy 8ft SW swell and a cross-breeze. Not worth paddling out for. Thursday the 6th sees a cleaner 5ft SW swell in the morning with a light SE cross-off breeze, making for some semi-decent walls, but it's not a standout. From Friday through to the following Monday, the swell drops right off, with anything from 2ft to 4ft but the wind is all over the shop. There's a bit of a run from the 9th to the 11th with clean, cross-off winds and some waist-high swell, but it's inconsistent and nothing to get too excited about. We're in a lull, really.

Now, hold on. Thursday the 13th is where it starts to get interesting. We've got a 7ft W groundswell rolling in with a period of 13 seconds, and it's dead glassy - seabreeze conditions in the morning. The energy is solid, reading 1880 (moderate to strong). This is the best we've seen in the whole window for a good session. However, at 7ft, this is getting into expert territory, so if you're not confident, maybe skip it. The afternoon stays clean and glassy at 6ft, so the day is a win.

Then we get a little wild. The 14th gets messy with onshore winds, but the real story is Saturday the 15th. A monster 18ft to 20ft SW swell rolls in. The energy is astronomical – 21,859 to 23,295 (very strong) – but the report is clear: it's too big for the break. Unless you're a tow-in crew with a death wish, stay out of the water. The same goes for the 16th and 17th, with 10ft to 13ft waves and howling cross-onshore winds.

The week after settles down a little. The 18th has 8ft SW swell and clean cross-off winds from the south, which is decent for experienced surfers, but the wind is moderate, so it won't be perfect. By the 20th of August, that Thursday is a gem: 4ft SW groundswell with a very long 18-19 second period and glassy conditions. The energy is solid (1446). This is a fantastic window for the point or reef if you can get a long wall. For the less-confident, it's still a good, manageable size.

All in all, the standout sessions are the glassy windows on Thursday the 13th and Thursday the 20th. Those are the two to circle on the calendar. Everything else is either too small, too big, or too windy.

Stay safe out there.

Rusty.

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