Ohara Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks for your stretch of coast. It’s a bit of a slow burner, with a long quiet patch before things finally wake up. The first real surf doesn’t even show its face until the 15th, so don’t be too keen to wax up before that. We’re looking at a solid week of flat, crumbly nothing before we get a few pulses of energy.

The opening salvo is small and soft. On the 15th, a bit of ESE swell rolls in at around 4ft from the southeast with a 9-second period. It’s clean with light winds, so it’s surfable, but it’s not going to blow your mind. That runs into Tuesday afternoon with some glassy conditions and a touch of offshore wind, but the swell drops right back to 2ft. You’ll be chasing little runners, not much on offer.

Then we hit another dry spell. From the 16th through the 19th, it’s small, crossed-up, and pretty miserable. The wind is onshore or cross-onshore, the swell is tiny, and the wave energy is weak, all in the 142-326 range. The only bright spot is the 20th, where a small, clean ENE swell at 4ft with a cross-offshore wind makes for a slight improvement, still nothing special.

Now, pay attention, because this is where it gets good. The standout window is the 21st and 22nd. The morning of the 21st sees a clean 6ft ENE swell with a period of 8 seconds, and the wind is dead glassy. That’s the one to be out for – clean, punchy, and fun. Wave energy bumps up to 599, which is a solid moderate push. The morning of the 22nd is also great: a 3ft south swell but with a long 14-second period, and it’s completely calm and glassy. That’s a proper long-period groundswell, which will wrap into the point and reef setups nicely, with energy at 544. That’s your best session of the whole window, super clean with super long-period energy.

After that, it gets serious for the experienced crew. The 23rd is what you’ve been waiting for. The swell jumps to 4ft-5ft from the south-southwest with a very long 16-second period. This is proper groundswell, with the energy building strongly to 1016 and then 1317 on the afternoon. Winds stay cross-offshore and clean, making for excellent, powerful surf. This is the highlight of the entire run for the experts. But heads up, this is over 5ft, so it’s pushing it for the beginners.

The 24th though, that’s where it all falls apart. The swell is still solid at 5ft with that long period, but the wind swings onshore from the northeast, blowing 25-30 km/h. It’s going to be lumpy, messy, and cross-onshore chop. Wave energy is huge, over 1500, but the wind ruins it. For the beach breaks, this will be more of a kite-surfing kind of day than a paddle-surfing one. For the experienced crew, a bigger, longer-period swell is always welcome, but the wind is a dealbreaker. The water is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting around 82°.

So, to wrap it up: don’t bother until the 15th, enjoy the glassy 21st and 22nd, and mark the 23rd as the standout for the big guys. The 24th is a write-off. Keep it on your radar, and keep the faith – there’s good stuff coming.

Rusty.

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