Surf Forecasts:
Sponge bay surf forecast from 7 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 9 Jul, 12PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 10s period, SSW swell with cross-onshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 10 Jul, 9AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 11s period, SE swell with 2,985 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 9 Jul, 6AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 10s period with ESE 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 Thursday (Jul 09) at 6AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.4m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 9s. Another secondary swell of 0.7m and 4s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Sponge bay in the next 16 days are 3.5m 11s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 10) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 4s period and expected on Monday (Jul 13) at 9PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 6AM (Thu 9th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 12PM (Thu 9th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 9AM (Fri 10th Jul) | 11ft (3.5m) 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 again, running through it in feet and knots.
So, Sponge Bay (Sponge-Bay) has a bit of everything. The real gem is early Tuesday, July 7th morning. We get a glassy 4ft E swell with near-calm offshore winds. Water temp is about 56°F, running a bit colder than average by about 2°F. Combined wave energy sits at 320, so moderate juice. That morning is the highlight of the whole outlook: clean, smooth, and some solid chest-high sets.
Wind shifts later Tuesday and the surf gets crappy through Wednesday. Thursday morning, July 9th, cleans up with a 5ft SSW swell and a light cross-off – energy jumps to 864. It’s a nice window, but still just a warm-up.
Then the wind goes nuts. Friday July 10th through the weekend, we’ve got 10 to 12ft SE swell with onshore winds screaming over 27 knots. Wave energy hits 3156 – that’s heavy. This is big, messy, and dangerous for all but experts. If you’re a kiter, this might be your jam.
The lull comes early the next week. Monday July 13th has a clean 4ft ESE swell – surfable but average. The big standout in the second week comes Wednesday July 15th and Thursday July 16th. That long-period groundswell (14–16 seconds) brings 5 to 5ft from the ESE with clean, light cross-off winds. Energy is in the 900 range, and the quality should be excellent. That long period will make the sets more lined up, but at a beach-and-reef spot like Sponge Bay, it could be a bit straight. Still, it’s the best bet after that first Tuesday.
There’s a gap after Thursday until the next Tuesday, July 21st, which offers another glassy 3ft ESE morning with moderate energy at 425. A nice little session to wrap things up.
Best on offer: the Tuesday July 7th dawn patrol, hands down. The Thursday July 16th window is a strong second, just further out so keep an eye on it.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 13mm), heaviest on Thu night. Very mild (max 13°C on Wed afternoon, min 10°C on Tue morning). Winds increasing (calm on Tue morning, near gales from the S by Thu night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Fri morning. Very mild (max 12°C on Fri morning, min 8°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the S on Fri morning, calm by Sun afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | SSW 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 9 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 241 | 356 | 520 | 473 | 480 | 416 | 356 | 1144 | 766 | 2985 | 1850 | 2179 | 1281 | 1324 | 580 | 421 | 334 | 261 | 221 | 141 | 146 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 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 | 3:39AM1.84m | 4:14PM1.90m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 9:28PM0.56m | 10:01AM0.43m | 10:33PM0.58m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | |  |  |  | |  | |  | | |  | | |  | |
 | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — |
 | — | 4:59 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:01 | — | — | 5:01 | — | — | 5:02 | — |
mm | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 7 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 11 |
Feels °C | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | E 10 | SSE 11 | ESE 10 | E 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 241 | 356 | 520 | 473 | 480 | 416 | 346 | 1144 | 454 | 171 | 1850 | 1178 | 800 | 800 | 580 | 421 | 334 | 261 | 221 | 141 | 146 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 17 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 14 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 10 | ESE 10 | SSW 20 | — | — | SSE 16 | SSE 15 | SSE 20 | SSE 17 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 |
| kJ | 58 | 20 | 18 | 41 | 36 | 32 | 137 | 356 | 38 | — | — | 48 | 23 | 75 | 216 | 174 | 118 | 99 | 46 | 24 | 10 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | SSE 16 | SSE 16 | SSE 9 | SSW 14 | NE 8 | S 5 | — | — | — | — | — | S 21 | SSE 14 | S 10 | — | — | — | N 12 | ESE 11 | S 16 |
| kJ | 21 | 51 | 48 | 16 | 61 | 15 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | 35 | 21 | 2 | — | — | — | 3 | 48 | 5 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | SW 3 | SSW 8 | SSW 8 | SSW 10 | — | SSE 9 | SE 11 | SSE 18 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | — | — | — | — | — | NE 3 | NNW 3 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 7 | 22 | 64 | 356 | — | 766 | 2985 | 30 | 2179 | 1281 | 1324 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 2 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 118 | 121 | 121 | 68 | 57 | 68 | 10 | 3 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gisborne and Mahia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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