Piha-The Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s look at this run of waves for Piha-The-Bar. There’s plenty of ocean energy, but you gotta be smart about when you paddle out. Early on, it’s messy. Then we get a window of clean, glassy surf, followed by a period of swell so big it’s just not for this place. Then, a couple of chances for a proper surf if you time it right.

We start on Friday the 21st. Swell is around 6ft from the WSW with a 13-second period, and the combined energy is a weak-ish 961. Wind is cross-shore from the WSW at 15 km/h, so it’s a bit bumpy. Water temp is 57°F, which is about average for the time of year. This one’s marginal – you’d be fighting for a half-decent one.

Saturday the 22nd is a no-go – onshore wind and choppy. Sunday the 23rd is worse, with a fresh 35 km/h wind from the NW. The swell spikes to 12ft on Sunday afternoon with 2864 energy, but it’s cross-onshore and rough. Just a mess.

Now, Monday the 24th – the swell jumps to over 15ft from the WSW with a 15-second period. The combined energy is huge: 8964 in the morning, up to 9324 in the afternoon. Wind is light and cross-shore, and the report says the wind and tide are favorable, but the swell is just too big for this break. This is for experts only, and honestly, even then, it’s risky. Too much water moving.

Tuesday the 25th is still big at 12ft, but the wind turns cross-onshore and it gets messy. Wednesday the 26th drops to 7ft, but the cross-onshore wind stays, making it bumpy.

Then we get our first real window. Thursday the 27th morning is still onshore, but only 10 km/h. The afternoon, though – the wind drops to 5 km/h and goes glassy. Swell is 6ft from the WSW with a 13-second period. The report calls it excellent. This is the standout. Clean, lined-up, proper. If you can only surf one day, make it this one.

Friday the 28th is a step back – wind jumps to 25 km/h and it’s onshore and bumpy. The weekend is more of the same, nothing special. Then Monday the 31st rolls around. Morning is cross-onshore, but the afternoon goes glassy again with a 6ft WSW swell at 14 seconds. Another clean window, the second standout of the run.

September starts with onshore wind on the 1st, and the 2nd brings a strong 40 km/h cross-offshore wind with 15ft of swell. Clean but way too big. The 3rd is even bigger – 20ft of swell with 16046 energy. That’s a massive, dangerous swell. The report is right to flag it as too big. Don’t even think about it.

The 4th of September brings it down a bit – 12ft in the morning with a light cross-shore wind. Still heavy. By the 5th, it’s back down to 6ft, but the wind is up again from the WNW at 25 km/h, making a mess.

So, the call is simple: the first few days are blown out. The two absolute gems are Thursday the 27th and Monday the 31st – both have glassy afternoons with solid, clean surf. The huge stuff in between is for watching, not surfing. The early September swell is a monster, but it’s not for this break. Be patient, be picky, and you’ll get some good ones.

Rusty out.

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