Surf Forecasts:
Sponge bay surf forecast from 5 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 6 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 9s period, E swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 10 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 16ft (5.0m), 11s period, S swell with 5,848 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 6 Jul, 9AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 9s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Sponge bay this week:
The surf forecast for Sponge bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 06) at 9AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 15s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Sponge bay in the next 16 days are 5.0m 11s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 10) at 3PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.0m 8s period and expected on Monday (Jul 06) at 12PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9AM (Mon 6th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 3PM (Mon 6th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 3PM (Fri 10th Jul) | 16ft (5.0m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Sponge bay over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s gonna happen at Sponge Bay.
Starting off, Monday morning July 6th is a no‑go. You’ve got a tiny 1.0m easterly swell, period only 9 seconds, combined energy weak at 158. It’s clean with a light offshore, but there’s next to nothing to ride.
Monday afternoon gets better. Swell pushes to 1.3m from the east, same 9 second period, but energy jumps to 282 and a cross-off breeze keeps it clean. That’s a good little session for a beginner. Sponge Bay is a fairly consistent beach and reef break, beginner friendly.
Tuesday the 7th is mixed. Morning brings 1.2m from the east with light cross‑shore wind and small ripples. Energy’s 325, but it’s marginal. Afternoon onshore from the south messes it up.
Wednesday the 8th swell builds to 1.7m from the ESE, period 11 seconds, energy 729. Morning has a light cross‑onshore, so it’s rideable for experienced surfers, but afternoon onshore kills it.
Thursday the 9th is a mess – 1.9m SSW swell with onshore wind and rain. Energy 1255 but poor.
Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th are huge – 5.0m onshore southerly with gale force wind, energy in the thousands. Only for the hardcore.
Sunday the 12th drops to 2.2m, still onshore and lumpy. Not worth it.
Monday the 13th morning gives a 2.1m SSW swell with cross‑shore wind and strong energy at 1257. Marginal but it’s the best looking in a while.
Tuesday the 14th morning is clean with 1.3m from the ESE, cross‑off wind, energy 345. Good conditions.
Wednesday morning the 15th of July is the standout. Offshore wind from the north, 1.3m ESE swell with a period of 11 seconds, energy 414, and it’s glassy. That’s clean, long‑period waves, perfect for Sponge Bay. The afternoon picks up to 1.6m with stronger cross‑off, but the morning is the session.
From Thursday the 16th on, surf drops under 1.0m. Clean but no power.
Sunday the 19th morning has a tiny 0.3m groundswell with 14 second period, energy just 59. Barely a ripple.
Monday the 20th has a 1.7m S swell with short period 7 seconds and cross‑shore wind – not great.
Best bet overall is Wednesday the 15th morning. That’s the one.
Water temp is about average for this time of year.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 19mm), heaviest on Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon morning, min 8°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 38mm), heaviest during Wed night. Very mild (max 14°C on Thu afternoon, min 10°C on Fri afternoon). Winds increasing (light winds from the SW on Wed night, strong winds from the S by Thu night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sun 12 | |||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | E 10 | SSW 9 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | S 10 | S 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 192 | 145 | 270 | 280 | 246 | 307 | 541 | 672 | 584 | 392 | 560 | 730 | 1400 | 5244 | 5848 | 2243 | 3492 | 2824 | 2039 | 936 | 1343 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | on | cross-off | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 10:18PM1.91m | 10:29AM1.82m | 10:59PM1.93m | 11:12AM1.84m | 11:39PM1.94m | 11:56AM1.85m | 00:18AM1.93m | 12:42PM1.87m | 00:59AM1.91m | 1:30PM1.89m | 1:45AM1.89m | 2:19PM1.90m | 2:38AM1.86m | 3:12PM1.90m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:35AM0.64m | 4:37PM0.59m | 5:17AM0.59m | 5:18PM0.57m | 5:59AM0.54m | 6:00PM0.55m | 6:40AM0.49m | 6:45PM0.54m | 7:24AM0.45m | 7:35PM0.54m | 8:10AM0.42m | 8:29PM0.54m | 9:01AM0.42m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |  |  | | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — |
 | — | — | 4:59 | — | — | 4:59 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:01 | — | — | 5:01 |
mm | — | 1 | 11 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 4 | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — |
Temp °C | 11 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
Feels °C | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | E 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 11 | ESE 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | E 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ESE 10 |
| kJ | 192 | 145 | 270 | 280 | 246 | 307 | 541 | 672 | 584 | 392 | 388 | 730 | 508 | 2243 | 2335 | 231 | 1673 | 1420 | 1160 | 936 | 820 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 16 | S 15 | S 21 | SSE 19 | SSE 17 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 14 | SSE 14 | SSE 8 | E 10 | ESE 10 | S 19 | E 10 | — | — | S 22 | SSE 20 | SSE 18 | SSE 16 | SSE 15 |
| kJ | 5 | 4 | 8 | 68 | 58 | 20 | 18 | 41 | 36 | 196 | 284 | 294 | 30 | 96 | — | — | 9 | 40 | 64 | 87 | 76 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 16 | S 22 | S 13 | SSW 19 | S 11 | SSE 16 | SSE 16 | SSE 9 | SSW 14 | SSE 13 | S 17 | NE 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 15 | — | — |
| kJ | 5 | 9 | 4 | 69 | 21 | 51 | 48 | 16 | 62 | 33 | 23 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | ENE 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 8 | SSW 7 | SSW 9 | — | SSE 10 | S 10 | S 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | — | SE 10 |
| kJ | — | 443 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 35 | 314 | 560 | — | 1400 | 5244 | 5848 | 2243 | 3492 | 2824 | 2039 | — | 1343 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 45 | 10 | 53 | 118 | 118 | 301 | 118 | 121 | 121 | 119 | 53 | 68 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gisborne and Mahia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Sponge bay surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Sponge bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Sponge bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Sponge bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Sponge bay surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Sponge bay) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Sponge bay may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Gisborne and Mahia? If you are looking for accommodation near Sponge bay, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Gisborne and Mahia, consider staying in Gisborne which is 8 km (5 miles) away.
Nearest