Piha-The Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. We've got one spot on the radar for the next 16 days: Piha-The Bar. It's an advanced, exposed West Coast break, so it's not for the faint-hearted. The water's sitting at 57°F, which is about average for this time of year.

We kick off on Monday, 27 July, with a solid pulse. Monday morning sees a 10ft swell from the WSW, with a 13-second period and a cross-off breeze. The wave energy is pumping hard at 2588 (moderate to strong). That's a big, powerful wave for experienced surfers only. Monday afternoon drops a touch to 8ft, still with that clean cross-off wind, and the energy is still hefty at 2121. Tuesday 28th is looking like the pick of the early week. Morning brings a clean 7ft WSW swell with a 12-second period and offshore winds from the SSE. The energy is a solid 1132. It's still a big wave, but that offshore wind will make it clean and lined up. That's your standout window for the advanced crew.

We get a bit of a drop-off on Wednesday 29th with smaller 5ft swell and a cross-off breeze, but it's not as punchy. Then Thursday 30th, the wind turns onshore from the north, making things choppy, even though the swell bumps back up to 7ft with a 14-second period. The energy is there (1435), but the quality is gone.

Now, hold on, because Friday 31st is a write-off. A wild 15ft, short-period 8-second swell from the W with fresh onshore winds. The energy is 3596, but it's just a lumpy, raw mess. Not worth paddling out.

Saturday 1st August sees a massive 15ft swell from the WSW with a 14-second period, and the energy is insane at 8153. The wind is cross-off, so it's clean, but this is a colossal wave. It's 15ft – that's a big, dangerous day for experts only, and even then, it's on the edge. Sunday 2nd drops back to a more manageable 8ft, but with a fresh 19 mph south wind, it's still a battle.

The second week is a bit of a mixed bag. Monday 3rd August has a weird 3ft swell with a super-long 21-second period and a 1689 energy reading – that's a lot of energy for a small wave, but it'll be fat and hard to link up. Tuesday 4th has a bigger 8ft swell with a 16-second period and a cross-off breeze, energy at 3001. That's a genuine option for the experienced. The real standout late in the period is Wednesday 5th August. The morning is glassy (ESE 3 mph) with a 7ft WSW swell and a 14-second period. The energy is 1784, and the conditions are described as "glassy." That's a rare, beautiful combo for Piha. If you can get on it, that's your second-best window.

After that, it fades. Thursday 6th to Sunday 9th sees dropping swell and increasing onshore winds from the NE, turning cross-shore and lumpy. The energy drops off, and the quality goes with it. The last few days (10th and 11th August) are just messy with moderate rain and cross-onshore winds.

So, the real standout is Tuesday morning, 28 July: 7ft, 12-second groundswell, offshore SSE wind, clean. The second standout is the glassy morning of Wednesday, 5 August: 7ft, 14-second groundswell, flat calm. Both are for advanced surfers only. The rest of the period is a mix of big, messy, or too small. Don't bother with the 15ft days unless you're a pro and you're ready for a beating.

Rusty.

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