Piha-The Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s coming up for Piha-The-Bar (New Zealand). We’ve got a window of surf on offer, but we have to be patient. There’s nothing happening right now, but the first real chance to get wet kicks off on Monday, 20 July.

The early part of the run is all about a solid SW groundswell with a 14-second period that’s packing some serious punch. The combined wave energy is high, hitting 2155 (moderate to strong) on Monday morning. It’s not quite clicking then, with a light cross breeze making things a bit ordinary. But hold on – Monday afternoon shows a real improvement. The wind swings to a light cross-offshore from the ENE, and the swell cleans up with 7ft of SW swell. The energy is still strong at 1777, and the conditions are clean. This is a standout for advanced surfers only though, as anything over 5ft is getting big for beginners, and this is solid.

Tuesday, 21 July, is the real gem. The morning serves up clean offshore wind from the SE, with a 6ft SW groundswell (14-second period) and a combined energy of 1161 (moderate). It’s clean, organised, and the offshore wind will be a dream. This is the best on offer in the whole outlook – the wind is perfect, the swell is a great size for experienced surfers, and the wave quality will be excellent. Tuesday afternoon stays clean with a slight cross-off breeze, still holding 6ft of SW swell. It’s going to be a good day.

Then we hit a lull. Wednesday, 22 July into Thursday morning, 23 July, sees the swell drop and the wind turns messy. The only highlight in this stretch is Thursday morning, 23 July, when the wind goes completely glassy (0 mph from the NE) and the swell is a clean 5ft from the SW with a period of 13 seconds and energy at 868 (moderate). That’s a very clean, small morning session for anyone who can sneak out.

From Friday, 24 July, things get wild. A strong W/SW wind kicks up, and the swell balloons. Friday afternoon turns into a complete mess – 7ft of short-period, wind-driven slop. The weekend of 25-26 July sees a massive pulse of SW groundswell, with the swell hitting 13ft to 18ft and combined energy readings climbing to 9216 and then 19262 (very strong). The wind is howling, and it’s just too big and messy. This is strictly for experts only, and even then, it’s going to be a battle. A setup like this at a beach break might be more interesting for the kite surfers than paddle surfers.

The oversized swell continues right through the start of August, with 18ft to 21ft swells and high energy levels (often over 10,000). The wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore, which makes it a wild, dangerous mess. Even when the wind is favourable, the swell is too big for this break.

The long-range outlook finally shows some light at the end of the tunnel on Tuesday, 4 August. The morning brings a clean offshore breeze from the SSE, with a 12ft WSW groundswell (13-second period) and a combined energy of 4141 (strong). It’s still big, solid expert territory, but the offshore wind will make it clean and powerful. That’s a promising, but distant, standout.

So, to sum it up: grab your best wave for the clean Tuesday morning, 21 July. That’s the pick of the bunch. The rest of the run is either too small, too windy, or way too big. Stay safe out there.

Rusty.

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