Port Waikato-Sunset beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what we’ve got coming down the line at Port Waikato-Sunset Beach.

It’s a bit of a slow start, but there’s one real standout window to get excited about. Right now, the water temp is sitting pretty average for the time of year, nothing wild to report there.

For the next couple of weeks, the pattern is clear: the first bit of proper swell hits this Saturday, August 29th, and it’s your best bet by a long shot. We’re looking at a 3ft swell from the WSW with a solid 13-second period pushing in moderate wave energy (545). The wind is light out of the NE at 3 mph, which is cross-offshore, and it’s clean. That’s good stuff. The afternoon glassed off even more, still that 3ft, 12-second swell from the WSW, with the wind dropping to glassy conditions. Honestly, that Saturday is the pick of the whole run. It’s a bit inconsistent with crowds possible, but for clean, lined-up waves, that’s where you want to be.

From Sunday morning the 30th onwards, things get messy. The swell jumps to 8ft and bigger, pushing over 10ft by Sunday arvo, and the wind swings hard out of the SW at 19 mph, cross-onshore, making it lumpy. The wave energy climbs into the strong range (1161 to 1611), but the quality is poor. By Monday the 31st, we’re looking at 15ft swell from the SW with a period hitting 14 seconds in the arvo, and the energy is very strong (7488), but again, those onshore winds just ruin it. That pattern of big, powerful swells but poor wind keeps rolling through the first week of September.

There’s a chance the wind lightens up a bit mid-week, but the swell stays big – 10ft to 16ft – and it’s consistently too big for this break. The energy readings are massive, often over 7000, and even when the wind drops to a light breeze, the swell size is just overwhelming. For an intermediate spot, this is expert-only territory, and honestly, it looks more like a kite setup than a paddle session on most of those big, windy days.

The second week doesn’t offer much relief. Swell stays in the 7ft to 16ft range, with strong to very strong energy, and the wind keeps it choppy or cross-onshore for most of the week. There’s a brief moment on Thursday, September 10th, in the afternoon where the wind goes glassy from the SSE, but the swell is still 13ft and too big. Another fleeting chance on the 12th with offshore wind and 10ft swell, but again, it’s just too much for this beach.

So to wrap it up: the only true standout is that Saturday, August 29th. Get it while it’s clean and fun. After that, it’s a long stretch of waiting for the wind to play ball with the swell, and it just doesn’t happen.

Rusty.

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