Port Waikato-Sunset beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Yo, what’s up, this is Rusty. Let’s get into it.

We’ve got a solid run of swell coming in for Port Waikato-Sunset Beach, starting this Sunday, July 12th. The first few days are the real standout, with a long-period groundswell from the southwest pushing through and some absolutely perfect conditions. The water temp is sitting at 59°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

Sunday morning (July 12th) kicks off with a clean 6 ft swell from the WSW, a 16-second period, and a light cross-off breeze from the ENE. The combined energy is pumping at 1721 (moderate to strong). This is excellent, experienced surfer territory. Then Sunday afternoon gets even better – the wind goes glassy (WNW, 0 mph), the swell drops slightly to 6 ft from the SW, and the energy is still strong at 1453. That afternoon session is gonna be as clean as it gets.

Monday morning (July 13th) holds clean with a 5 ft SW swell, 14-second period, and a cross-off NE breeze. Energy is down a bit at 853 but still good. The wind stays clean through the morning. Monday afternoon sees the swell drop to 4 ft and the wind goes cross, so it gets a bit marginal.

The standout by far is Sunday (July 12th) – both the morning and especially the glassy afternoon. That’s the one to circle. The next best is Saturday, July 18th, when the afternoon brings a 8 ft SW groundswell, 15-second period, and a clean offshore breeze from the east (9 mph). That’s rated as excellent for experienced surfers, with a combined energy of 3367 (strong).

After that, the size kicks up. Wednesday, July 15th afternoon sees a 10 ft swell from the WSW with a 16-second period and a combined energy of 4066 (very strong). But the wind is onshore, and the data says this is too big for this break – expert only, and even then, it’s gonna be a messy beast.

The rest of the week is a mix. Thursday and Friday mornings (July 16th and 17th) have good-sized SW swell (8 ft and 7 ft) but cross-on winds make it choppy. The real clean-up comes again on Saturday, July 18th afternoon (offshore, 8 ft, 15 seconds) and Sunday, July 19th (offshore/cross-off, 8 ft, 16 seconds). Those are both excellent.

From Monday, July 20th, the swell starts to drop. Monday morning still has a clean 6 ft SW swell with an offshore breeze, but the wind picks up to 12 mph. By Tuesday, July 21st, the wind is howling at 22 mph offshore, dropping the swell to 5 ft – it’s clean but getting blown out. Then from Wednesday, July 22nd, things get small and weak, with energy dropping to 284 (weak) and poor conditions through the rest of the week. There’s a gap of poor to marginal surf from July 22nd through July 25th.

Then, a late flourish on Sunday, July 26th morning: a tiny 3 ft swell but with a 19-second period and glassy conditions. That’s a weird one – long period, low height, clean. Could be a fun left-hander if you’re on a log.

So overall: Sunday, July 12th (glassy afternoon) and Saturday, July 18th (offshore afternoon) are your two best windows. Get on it.

Rusty.

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