Port Waikato-Sunset beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s take a look at what’s on the cards for Port Waikato-Sunset Beach. There’s a bit of a messy start, but the second week starts to clean up real nice.

First thing: the water temperature is sitting around 58°, which is pretty much bang on what you’d expect for winter. No surprises there.

The next few days are pretty mashed. We’ve got a solid SW groundswell pumping in from Friday the 17th through till Sunday the 19th, but the wind is blowing cross or cross-onshore and the swell is well over 8 ft – topping out at 10 ft. The wave energy is huge (7099 combined energy on Sunday morning), but it’s just too big and messy for this beach. That’s big-wave territory for the experts only, and even then the wind is going to chop it up. Not worth paddling out.

There’s a real gap from Friday afternoon through to Sunday – no good surf on offer. The swell is just too strong and the wind is wrong.

Things start to turn around on Monday the 20th. The swell drops to a more manageable 7 ft in the morning, 6 ft in the arvo, and the wind swings to a light ENE cross-off at 6 mph. That’s clean. The wave energy is still moderate (1903), but the conditions are clean. This is for experienced surfers – the swell is still solid. It’s the standout of the first week.

Tuesday the 21st morning is a real treat. The swell drops to 5 ft, wind is light easterly offshore at 3 mph, and the wave energy is 867. The period is 13 seconds – a nice groundswell. Clean, crisp, and a whole lot more manageable. This is the best on offer for the early part of the run. Crowds are only sometimes a problem here, so you might get a solo peak or two.

Wednesday the 22nd and Thursday the 23rd are a write-off – poor wind and dropping swell. But Thursday morning the 23rd has a moment of glassy calm with a 4 ft SW swell and 13-second period, but the energy is low (548). It’s a small, clean option if you’re desperate.

Now, there’s a big gap of poor conditions again from Thursday afternoon right through Saturday the 25th. The 25th sees a massive 15 ft swell with strong cross-onshore wind – that’s a full-on storm surf setup, more for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The real payoff comes on Sunday the 26th. Morning brings a crisp 8 ft WSW groundswell, period 15 seconds, with a light southerly cross-off at 6 mph. The wave energy is 2620. Clean, powerful, and long-period. This is the standout of the second week. The period is long, so watch out for the sets to be a bit more drawn out – it’ll be best at the reef or point if you can find one, but the beach should still offer some solid lines.

Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th are marginal – the wind starts to turn onshore again. The swell hangs around 7 ft to 8 ft, but the quality drops off.

Then Thursday the 30th and Friday the 31st bring another clean window. Thursday morning has an 8 ft WSW swell, 14 seconds, with a light NE cross-off and glassy conditions. The wave energy is 2515. This is another excellent session for experienced surfers. Friday morning the 31st is glassy again with an 8 ft SW swell, 12 seconds, and energy 2059. Two clean, solid mornings in a row.

Finally, Saturday the 1st of August morning is a small, clean gem. 5 ft SW swell, 12 seconds, glassy, wave energy 874. A lovely little session for anyone.

Overall, the best is Monday the 20th morning, Tuesday the 21st morning, and Sunday the 26th morning. The 26th is the real standout – clean, powerful, long-period groundswell. The end of the month also has a couple of tidy glassy mornings. Just be patient through the first weekend.

Rusty.

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