Ohara Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what's on the cards for Ohara. It's a bit of a slow burner this time around.

Honestly, the next week and a half or so looks pretty bleak. We’ve got a solid ten days of grovelly or blown-out conditions ahead, with very little to get excited about. The first real chance of anything half decent doesn’t show up until Monday the 10th of August.

Right now, the water’s sitting at 80°, which is bang on average for this time of year.

Sunday the 26th has tiny 3ft cross-shore wind swell, and that's about as good as it gets for a while. The combined wave energy is weak at 224. By Monday the 27th, it’s small and messy, and Tuesday the 28th is more of the same. There’s a brief moment on Tuesday afternoon with a light offshore breeze, but the swell is only 3ft – not exactly going to set the world on fire.

We get a glassy morning on Wednesday the 29th, but again, with only 2ft of swell and weak energy (87), it’s just tiny clean waves. The only upside is the wind will be glassy, so it’ll be smooth. The rest of the week follows the same pattern: small, inconsistent, and mostly onshore, with the odd clean moment that won’t deliver much punch. The best you can hope for is something to ride on a longboard.

Now, things get interesting right at the tail end of the forecast. On Monday the 10th of August, we start to see a serious change. A long period groundswell (14 seconds) from the ESE rolls in with 6ft to 7ft of swell. The combined wave energy jumps into the thousands – around 3575 and 2843 – so there's some serious power behind it. The wind is forecast to be offshore from the SSW and S, which is exactly what this spot likes. That means clean, lined-up waves. This is the one to circle on the calendar. It's best for experienced surfers as the swell gets over 5ft, and with that long period, the sets will be fat and powerful, offering some proper shape at Ohara. It won't be for the faint-hearted, but for those who know what they're doing, Monday the 10th is the standout.

Before that, from the 3rd of August onwards, the swell size really starts to ramp up, but the wind stays onshore, making it a choppy mess. By Thursday the 6th and Friday the 7th of August, we’re looking at 12ft to 16ft of SE swell, but with cross-onshore winds, it'll be huge, raw, and probably more suited to the tow-in crew or, frankly, kite surfing than a standard paddle session. The wind and tide are actually favorable on the 7th and 8th of August, but the swell is simply too big for this break, topping out at 16ft to 20ft. That's a hard pass for us mere mortals.

So, boil it all down: a long, quiet period, then a big, messy swell, and right at the end, a window of opportunity. If I had to pick one moment, it’s the morning of Monday the 10th of August – offshore winds and a solid 7ft groundswell from the ESE. That’s your best chance for something truly good.

Stay patient, and keep an eye on those charts. Things can always change for the better.

Rusty.

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