Mangawhai Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m going to be straight with you – the next 16 days at Mangawhai Heads are a tough watch. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak energy and tricky winds ahead. There’s no real standout session in the whole run. The first wave of any real note doesn’t show up until Friday the 4th of September, so you’re looking at a solid 5-6 day gap of flatness right off the bat.

The water temp’s sitting at 59°F, which is pretty normal for this time of year, no big surprises there.

The pattern is pretty bleak. Through the end of August and into the first week of September, we’re dealing with tiny swell – mostly 1 ft to 2 ft from the NE. The combined energy is pathetic, barely cracking 30 or 40 (31 to 74). Winds are mostly offshore from the WSW or WNW, which would be a dream if there was any swell to work with. It’s clean, sure, but clean ankle-biters don’t get the blood pumping.

Friday the 4th of September afternoon shows a glimmer: a 2 ft N swell with a period of 6 seconds, and combined energy of 51. Winds are offshore from the WSW at 12 mph. It’s surfable, but it’s ordinary. The next week follows the same script. We get another little bump on Friday the 11th of September morning – a 6 ft N swell, period of 6 seconds, with offshore W winds at 16 mph. That energy jumps to 271 (moderate), but the period is short and lumpy. It’s marginal at best, really only for the keen.

Saturday the 12th of September morning is actually glassy from an ESE breeze under 3 mph, but the swell is a tiny 1 ft ENE. The energy is only 55. It’s a beautiful-looking ocean with zero push.

Honestly, the only session that might get you out of bed is that Friday the 11th morning if you’re desperate. Offshore wind, 6 ft of swell, but that 6-second period means it’ll be soft and sectiony. It’s not going to be great, but it’s the biggest we’ve got. Mangawhai Heads is a beach and reef setup, so without a decent period and direction, it’s a bit of a wait-and-pray situation. The crowds are possible here (“sometimes” busy) so you won’t be alone if you paddle out on that Friday.

For the rest of the run, if the wind keeps blowing as forecast, the setup might honestly look more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddler. The swell is small and the cross-shore winds on a few days will just make things choppy. We’ll take what we can get, but right now the ocean’s not offering much.

Rusty.

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