Lake Ferry Surf Break

Lat Long: 41.40° S 175.15° E

Lake Ferry Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 11 pm 14 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Lake Ferry sea temperature is
10.8° C
1.2° 

Lake Ferry surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Lake Ferry surf forecast from 14 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 3PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 14s period, S swell with onshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Tuesday 18 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 18ft (5.5m), 11s period, SSW swell with 6,635 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 15 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 17s period with SSW swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Lake Ferry this week:

The surf forecast for Lake Ferry over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 15) at 9AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.3m and 17s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 7s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Lake Ferry in the next 16 days are 5.5m 11s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 9PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.6m 5s period and expected on Friday (Aug 21) at 12PM.

Wave TypeTime (NZST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 9AM (Sat 15th Aug)1ft (0.3m) 17s
Best Surf 3PM (Wed 19th Aug)11ft (3.5m) 14s
Most Powerful 9PM (Tue 18th Aug)18ft (5.5m) 11s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Lake Ferry over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are a real mixed bag, and you're gonna need to be patient if you want a wave. The swell window is open, but the wind gods are being downright cruel for most of the run. The water’s sitting at 51°F at Lake Ferry, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you'll want the thickest rubber you own.

The first few days are a write-off. We're looking at tiny, long-period swells with poor surf conditions. It's a bit heartbreaking, really. Friday the 14th won't have anything, and Saturday the 15th is barely surfable, but nothing you'd want to get out of bed for.

Then the ocean wakes up with a vengeance. Sunday the 16th sees a jump to 13ft of southerly swell, but it's coming with a howling 35 km/h cross-onshore wind. It’s a full-on washing machine out there. The energy is weak at 35 on Friday, but it detonates to a strong 2793 by Sunday morning – it's all just messy and blown out. This runs through Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning, with big, chunky, short-period swell (8-10 seconds) and onshore winds. This thing is way too big and raw for anything but a tow-in mission, and honestly, at a sandbar break, this is more of a kite-surfing show than a paddle-surfing one. The energy readings are screaming strong, with values hitting 4776 on Wednesday afternoon, but it's just too much.

But hold on. Wednesday afternoon and Thursday the 20th start to show some real promise. The wind finally drops, and the swell cleans up. Thursday morning is still a bit marginal with 8ft, but Thursday afternoon is the standout of the first week. The swell drops to a manageable 7ft from the south with a 12-second period, the wind goes glassy (5 km/h from the SW), and the energy is a solid 1336. The forecast is calling it "excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers." This is the window. Get out there. It’s still a solid size, so it’s not for beginners, but for the crew who know what they're doing at a sandbar, this is your moment.

Friday the 21st is a step down with cleaner conditions and some cross-offshore wind, but less size. Saturday the 22nd looks promising on paper, with a gentle offshore wind and clean waves, but the size is dropping. It’s surfable, sure, but nothing to write home about after Thursday's event.

The second week starts to fade. Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th see the swell drop right back down and strong winds mess things up again. It turns tiny and ordinary. Tuesday and Wednesday are flat and uninteresting. The energy is just gone.

There is a glimmer of hope at the very end of the run. Thursday the 27th is looking like the second standout. The morning shows a small, clean wave, but the afternoon is where it's at. The swell builds slightly to 4ft from the SSW with a very long 18-second period, the wind goes light and cross-offshore, and the energy jumps to a solid 1011. It's calling for "excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers." Like Thursday the 20th, this is a distance swell, so that long period could be a bit straight at a sandbar, but the conditions are set to be perfect. This one is a promising but less certain long-range call. Keep an eye on it.

The rest of the run after that fades into smaller, wind-affected slop. It’s a save-your-energy kind of fortnight. Be ready for Thursday the 20th and that final Thursday the 27th.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Moderate rain (total 19mm), heaviest on Sat night. Very mild (max 13°C on Sat morning, min 6°C on Sun morning). Mainly fresh winds.

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Light rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Tue morning. Very mild (max 11°C on Tue afternoon, min 6°C on Mon night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSW on Tue morning, calm by Thu afternoon).

Saturday
15
Sunday
16
Monday
17
Tuesday
18
Wednesday
19
Thursday
20
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
!
2
3
3
4
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.2
SSW
15
0.3
SSW
17
0.4
SSW
16
2.5
SSW
7
4.5
SSW
9
4
S
9
3.5
S
9
3
S
8
1.9
SSW
7
1
SSW
13
3
SSW
7
4
SSW
9
5
SSW
11
4.5
S
11
3.5
S
14
2.5
S
14
2.2
S
12
2.2
S
12
1.7
S
12
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
21
57
97
632
3165
2890
2126
1109
383
312
911
2251
5600
4416
5180
2428
1301
1323
827
Wind (km/h)
10
ENE
10
NE
10
SSW
35
SSW
35
S
35
S
30
S
25
S
20
S
15
SSW
30
SSW
30
SSW
25
SSW
25
SSW
20
SSW
10
SSW
10
SSW
5
SSW
10
NNE
Wind State
cross-off
cross-off
on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
off
High Tide
6:23AM1.27m
6:53PM1.37m
7:20AM1.26m
7:49PM1.32m
8:16AM1.25m
8:43PM1.26m
9:11AM1.24m
9:36PM1.22m
10:04AM1.23m
10:28PM1.18m
10:54AM1.22m
11:17PM1.14m
Low Tide
00:22AM0.03m
12:40PM0.00m
1:17AM0.04m
1:38PM0.03m
2:11AM0.06m
2:34PM0.07m
3:02AM0.09m
3:29PM0.11m
3:52AM0.13m
4:21PM0.16m
4:40AM0.16m
5:11PM0.19m
part cloud
cloud
light rain
heavy rain
light rain
light rain
cloud
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
rain showers
clear
light rain
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:09
7:09
7:07
7:05
7:05
7:03
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:37
5:37
5:38
5:39
5:40
5:42
 mm
3
12
2
2
1
3
Temp °C
12
13
12
10
7
7
7
8
8
8
9
11
10
10
10
9
11
11
7
Feels °C
10
13
11
5
-1
-1
-2
2
2
2
2
4
3
5
6
6
8
9
5
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Lake Ferry:

join our community of surf reporters

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website

The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Lake Ferry surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.


Information about the Lake Ferry Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Lake Ferry provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Lake Ferry can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Lake Ferry surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Lake Ferry) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).

Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Lake Ferry may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.

Lake Ferry is 28 km (17 miles) from Lower Hutt. If you plan a holiday in The Wairarapa, look for hotels and other accommodation in Lower Hutt. Lower Hutt has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.

Nearest locationNearest