Raglan-Manu Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ over the next couple of weeks.

First up, things are pretty average to start. There’s a lot of wind messing with the waves, and the scores are low. The best action is a long way off, but when it hits, it’ll be a ripper.

We kick off on Wednesday the 2nd of September with a WSW swell around 7 ft at 14 seconds. The wave energy is strong (1959), but that cross-on wind from the WSW at 12 mph has it choppy. Thursday isn’t much better, with a bit of a clean-up on the wind but still marginal.

Now, Friday the 4th is a write-off. Strong onshore winds and a jumpy, messy 10 ft swell. That’s a skip day. Saturday and Sunday have size, 8 ft to 8 ft, but the wind stays cross to cross-on, so the face is lumpy and choppy. Monday the 7th is pumping hard at 10 ft with huge energy (over 4000), but it’s a washing machine in the wind. This is kite-surfing territory, not paddle.

We go through a few more days of marginal, choppy conditions until we hit the gold.

The standout session is Friday the 11th of September at Raglan-Manu Bay. This is the one. Morning shows a clean 12 ft swell from the WSW at 15 seconds with a cross-offshore breeze from the SSE at 9 mph. The wave energy is massive (9643). That afternoon bumps up to 15 ft with an 18-second period and clean cross-off wind. This is proper groundswell, and at a classic point break like Manu Bay, those long lines will reel off beautifully. This is for experts only, size is big.

Saturday the 12th backs it up nicely. Morning has a glassy, clean 12 ft from the WSW at 17 seconds – offshore vibes with the wind dead calm. That is pure magic, but again, it’s big and powerful, suited to experienced surfers. The water temp is about 57°, which is dead average for this time of year.

Later in the second week, Wednesday the 16th and Thursday the 17th both have some glassy morning windows. The 16th has a clean 8 ft at 17 seconds, and the 17th has a glassy 10 ft at 15 seconds. Those are promising but further out, so less certain.

Overall, the first ten days are a slog with wind and chop. The real story is that huge pulse of clean, long-period WSW groundswell arriving around the 11th and 12th of September. That’s the one to pencil in.

Rusty.

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