Sponge bay 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 38.70° S 178.06° E

Issued: 5 am 23 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Sponge bay sea temperature is

12.8° C

Sponge bay surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at Sponge bay today (23 Jul):

Morning surf: Morning surf (23 Jul, local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 12s period with SSE swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (23 Jul, local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 12s period with SSE swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (23 Jul, local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 11s period with SSE swell.

The current surf forecast for Sponge bay at 11AM is: 0.5m 12s primary swell from a South-southeast direction and 0.3m 11s secondary swell from a East-southeast direction (forecast issued at 05:00am July 23). The wind direction is predicted to be offshore.

Time (NZST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (23 Jul)	1.5ft (0.5m)	12s
Afternoon (23 Jul)	1.5ft (0.4m)	12s
Evening (23 Jul)	1ft (0.3m)	11s

Table - waves today at Sponge bay. (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Mostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Fri morning, min 7°C on Thu morning). Winds increasing (light winds from the N on Thu morning, fresh winds from the SW by Sat afternoon).
	Thursday 23							Friday 24								Saturday 25
	3 AM	6 AM	9 AM	12 PM	3 PM	6 PM	9 PM	12 AM	3 AM	6 AM	9 AM	12 PM	3 PM	6 PM	9 PM	12 AM	3 AM	6 AM	9 AM	12 PM	3 PM	6 PM	9 PM
Rating (10 max)	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SSE 13	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 11	SSE 11	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	ESE 11	E 8	E 10	E 11	E 11	E 11	E 12	E 12	E 11	E 11	E 11	SSW 8
Wave Graph
kJ	142	121	86	85	56	53	24	23	21	20	19	11	21	49	56	85	121	132	172	166	121	119	703
Wind (km/h)	NW	NW	NNW	N	NNE	N	NW	NW	NW	NNW	NNW	NW	NNW	NNW	NNW	N	NNW	NNW	NW	W	WSW	SW	WSW
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	off	cross-off	off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	off	off	off	off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on
High Tide	00:29AM1.96m				12:59PM1.88m				1:10AM1.87m				1:42PM1.82m				1:52AM1.78m				2:25PM1.76m
Low Tide			6:49AM0.58m				7:05PM0.70m				7:32AM0.62m				7:52PM0.75m				8:14AM0.67m				8:41PM0.79m


	—	7:16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:16	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	5:09	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:12	—	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	8	7	7	11	14	12	9	8	9	9	10	15	15	13	14	13	12	12	11	13	13	10	9
Feels °C	4	3	3	7	10	8	5	3	4	5	7	10	10	9	9	9	9	8	5	7	5	2	2
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SSE 13	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 11	ENE 5	ENE 6	ENE 6	ENE 6	ENE 6	E 8	E 10	E 11	E 11	E 11	E 12	E 12	E 11	E 11	E 11	S 8
kJ	142	121	86	85	56	53	24	5	6	7	7	8	21	49	56	85	121	132	172	166	121	119	253
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 12	ESE 10	ESE 11	ESE 11	ESE 11	ENE 4	ENE 4	SSE 11	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	ENE 4	ENE 4	NE 6	SE 18	SE 18	SE 17	ESE 17	E 11
kJ	14	10	23	23	23	3	4	23	21	20	19	9	9	8	8	2	2	9	13	49	77	112	86
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 10	ESE 12	E 4	E 4	ENE 6	ESE 11	ESE 11	ESE 11	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 11	ESE 11	SE 11	SE 11	SSE 9	SE 9	SE 19	SE 13	NNE 6	S 8	S 18	ESE 16
kJ	9	14	1	2	4	23	23	11	11	10	10	11	12	5	4	8	3	14	27	3	1	24	103
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	—	—	—	NE 6	NE 4	NNW 2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	NNE 3	NNE 3	—	NNW 3	NW 2	W 2	WSW 3	SSW 6	SSW 8
kJ	—	—	—	—	18	7	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	—	3	1	2	5	64	703
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Tuahine Point Gisborne and Mahia	Makorori North Gisborne and Mahia	Happy Jacks Gisborne and Mahia	Happy Jacks Gisborne and Mahia	Loisell's East Cape	Loisell's East Cape	Wainui Beach - Pines Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Sponge bay Gisborne and Mahia	Tuahine Point Gisborne and Mahia	Wainui Beach - Pines Gisborne and Mahia	Waipaoa River Gisborne and Mahia	Tolaga Bay East Cape	Anaura Bay East Cape	Anaura Bay East Cape
Rating (10 max)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3
Distance (km)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	9	37	37	36	36	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	10	42	57	57
Best forecast wave conditions in Gisborne and Mahia	Diners Beach	Diners Beach	Makorori Centre	Makorori Centre	Makorori Centre	Wainui Beach - Whales	Makorori Centre	Point Annihilation	Mahanga Beach	Mahanga Beach	Blacks Reef		Makorori Point	Wainui Beach - Whales	Wainui Beach - Whales	Tuamotu Island	Makorori Centre	Makorori Centre	Makorori Centre	Waipaoa River
Rating (10 max)	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand	Blaketown Wedge West Coast South Island	Nine Mile West Coast South Island	Stent Road Taranaki	Stent Road Taranaki	Punakaiki West Coast South Island	Raglan-Indicators Raglan and West Waikato	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Purakaunui Bay Catlins	Otago Peninsula - Pipikaretu Otago	Papatowai Catlins	Wainui Beach - Whales Gisborne and Mahia	Tuamotu Island Gisborne and Mahia	Mangamaunu Kaikoura and Marlborough	Makorori Centre Gisborne and Mahia	Makorori Centre Gisborne and Mahia	Wavetraps West Coast South Island	Papatowai Catlins	Smoothwater Bay West Coast South Island	Papatowai Catlins
Rating (10 max)	3	3	4	4	3	3	2	2	2	3	4	4	1	4	1	1	1	1	2	6	5	7	5
Header Global	Viri Inga O Tuki Chile	Papa Tangaroa Chile	Point Roadnight Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Etang-Sale Reunion	Cobblestones Australia	Point Roadnight Australia	Dolphin Point South Africa	Benkunqut Indonesia	Point Roadnight Australia	Point Roadnight Australia	Dolphin Point South Africa	Fish Boma South Africa	Boneyards South Africa	Boneyards South Africa	Sea Vista South Africa	Sea Vista South Africa	Fish Boma South Africa	Fish Boma South Africa	Boneyards South Africa	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Bancoora Australia
Rating (10 max)	8	7	6	5	4	4	7	5	4	9	9	9	9	9	9	7	6	5	5	5	5	5	5

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

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Sponge bay 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at Sponge bay today (23 Jul):

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