Piha-The Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let me tell you what’s cooking for Piha-The-Bar over the next couple of weeks.

First thing you gotta know: this is a big-wave, expert-only spot, and this forecast is stacked with heavy water. There’s no small stuff to ease into. The first real action doesn't kick off until Friday the 11th, so the early part of this week is a write-off – just messy cross-shore junky surf.

Now, if you are a seasoned charger, Friday the 11th is your window. We’re talking a solid 15-foot swell from the SW with a long 19-second period on the morning. The wind is clean and cross-offshore, so the face will be groomed. The combined swell energy is heavy at 14,262 – that’s a serious ocean. This is easily the best looking session of the whole outlook: clean, lined-up, and proper juice. Just know it’s not for the faint-hearted. That 15-foot is way beyond anything a beginner should be looking at.

Saturday the 12th holds similar size – 15-foot to 16-foot – with a strong cross-offshore puff in the afternoon, but the morning is a mess with strong cross-shore wind. Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th are still very solid at 10-foot to 15-foot, but the winds go cross-shore, making it lumpy and harder to manage. The energy stays monstrous through the weekend.

There’s a bit of a lull mid-week on the 16th, where the swell drops right back, but the wind turns onshore and it looks messy. Then, another pulse of big SW swell arrives on Thursday the 17th (15-foot), with clean cross-offshore wind again in the morning. That’s another heavy session if you’ve got the nerve and the board.

After that, it’s a slow slide down into the 7-foot to 10-foot range, but the wind is mostly cross or cross-on, giving us chopped-up, temperamental conditions right through to the 25th of September. The period stays long (14-18 seconds), which means the swell has travel, but at a beach break like Piha, that long period can make the waves close out and double-up on you. It’s still deep water for experts, just not as clean as the standout days.

Standout Call: Without a doubt, Friday morning the 11th of September is the best of the lot. 15-foot of SW swell, 19-second period, clean cross-offshore wind, and the energy reading is sky-high. If you can handle it, that’s the one. The following Thursday the 17th is a solid backup. Crowds are "sometimes" here, but on a day like Friday the 11th, you might have less company because most people will be watching from the beach. Keep an eye on the tides, because even on the good days, the window can be short.

No water temp data is in the file for this spot, so I can't tell you if it’s warm or cold out there.

It’s all big or messy for the rest of the run. Lock in for the 11th if you’re keen.

Rusty.

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