Piha-The Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, crew, Rusty here giving you the lowdown for the next 16 days at Piha-The-Bar. It’s a wild ride, with some massive, powerful swells and some clean windows, so you’ve got to be smart about it. The water is about 58°F, which is average for the season, no drama there.

The first real call is Thursday morning, July 23rd. We’ve got a 5ft swell from the SW, with a 14-second period—that’s full-on groundswell, heaps of grunt. The wind is glassy out of the ENE, and the combined energy is 1031 (moderate). The lineup at Piha-The-Bar (New Zealand) will be clean as a mirror. This is a standout for the experienced crew. The swell direction is bang on the optimum SW.

Thursday afternoon, the wind turns onshore from the W at 15 km/h, and it gets messy. The swell jumps to 6ft, but it’s a chop. Friday the 24th is a total loss: strong cross/onshore winds and a nasty NW windswell with a short 7-second period (926 energy). Saturday the 25th goes huge but wild. We’re looking at 21ft of solid WSW swell (13,786 energy), but the wind is screaming 45 km/h cross-shore. That’s not for paddling; maybe a kiteboarder’s dream.

Now the first real standout. Sunday morning, July 26th. The swell drops to a still-massive 13ft from the WSW, but the period stretches to a very long 16 seconds. The magic is the wind: light offshore from the SE at 10 km/h. The combined energy is 7132 (strong), and it’s called exceptional for experts. This is a big, clean, lined-up groundswell at Piha—thick and powerful. Only the best should be out. The afternoon stays clean, but the wind is cross-offshore.

The next week settles into a more manageable rhythm. Monday the 27th has 8ft swell with cross-shore winds, nothing special. Tuesday the 28th is a good call: 5ft clean waves with light offshore winds (858 energy). Wednesday the 29th is glassy again in the morning with 5ft swell (508 energy). Thursday the 30th gets a bump to 7ft, but the wind is onshore. Friday the 31st has 12ft from the W (4280 energy), but it’s cross-shore, so it’s lumpy.

Then we hit the first weekend of August. Saturday the 1st is a beauty: 10ft from the WSW, glassy in the afternoon (2230 energy). Clean, lined up. Sunday the 2nd is even better—12ft from the SW (3352 energy) with a moderate offshore wind from the SSE. This is prime for experienced surfers. Monday the 3rd holds at 7ft with clean conditions.

Into the second week, the long-range looks promising but less certain. Tuesday the 4th has a tiny 3ft swell with a very long 18-second period, but it’s clean (881 energy). Wednesday the 5th sees a massive jump back to 13ft from the SW (9277 energy) with clean cross-offshore winds. Thursday the 6th is the standout of the whole run: 12ft from the SW, a 15-second period, and a light offshore wind from the SE (8629 energy). The forecast calls it exceptional for experts. Friday the 7th ends the period with 7ft on a glassy, dead calm morning (1408 energy). Perfect.

Remember, Piha-The-Bar is an advanced spot, it’s fairly consistent, and you can expect crowds sometimes. On the big, clean days, it’ll be packed. The two real standouts are the Sunday morning (July 26th) and the Thursday morning (August 6th). Those are the sessions to circle on the calendar.

Rusty.

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