Potato Point Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Otago, New Zealand)

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Potato Point Surf Guide

Potato Point in Otago is a fairly exposed point break that only works once in a while with no particular seasonal pattern. Offshore winds are from the south southeast. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the ideal swell angle is from the northeast. Best around low tide when the tide is rising. Rarely crowded here. Beware of sharks/rips.

Potato Point Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Point	3	inconsistent	13.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Potato Point:

The best conditions reported for surf at Potato Point occur when a Northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South-southeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Potato Point (for consistent clean waves)?

augustBest Season: summer

The best time of year for surfing Potato Point with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer and most often the month of August. Clean surfable waves are typically found 5% of the time in August while 15% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 80% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

15%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

80%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Potato Point Location Map

Interactive Potato Point surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Potato Point is Dunedin Airport (DUD) in New Zealand, 40 km (25 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Potato Point is Oamaru Airport (OAM), also in New Zealand, 93 km (58 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Potato Point Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 14:35 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06			Thu
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	ENE	ENE	ENE	NE
Period (s)	8	8	9	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	glass	on	cross- on

What does Potato Point look like?

Latest photos from Potato Point. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Al Paterson

Tides at Potato Point

Current tide and informaton

For Warrington, 4 km from Potato Point.

Next High Water: 06:34pm | 1.57m

Next Low Water: 12:59am | 0.51m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Potato Point Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.0 °C) at Potato Point is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (14.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.

Current Temp*: 13.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Potato Point

Surf stats for Potato Point, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Potato Point

Wind stats for Potato Point, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Potato Point Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 4 votes.

Overall:3.0
Quality on a good day:2.8
Consistency of Surf:1.8
Difficulty Level:1.0
Wind and Kite Surfing:1.0
Crowds:3.0
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Jo from New Zealand

“Not the best surf spot in the area (think Murderers, Long Beach etc) but whoever is rubbishing the water quality is an idiot. The spot is on the mouth of a the beautiful & clean Purakanui Inlet.”

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