Wainui Beach - Stockroute Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let's have a look at what's on the cards for the Gisborne region over the next couple of weeks. We've got a slow start, but there are some windows of opportunity if you're patient. The main event is a solid, energetic pulse early on, but it comes with a lot of wind. Let’s get into it.

First up, we’re looking at a bit of a lull. There’s nothing worth paddling out for on Thursday or Friday, so give it a miss. The real story kicks off on Friday afternoon, but it's a tricky one. Stockroute is our only break on the radar, a full-on advanced beach and reef setup that needs a south-easterly swell to fire.

Friday afternoon brings a big 12 ft swell from the SSE with a 10-second period, packing a massive punch (combined energy of 4015). The catch: a fresh cross-shore wind is making things lumpy and choppy. It's powerful, but messy. Saturday morning sees the swell drop to a still-chunky 8 ft from the SE, and the wind swings to a light cross-offshore, cleaning it right up. That’s your first real look-in – it’s still big, too much for beginners for sure, but for the experienced crew, it’ll be game on. The water temp is sitting at 57°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Sunday morning is a real standout. The swell settles to a clean 4 ft from the SE, but the wind goes glassy – a slight offshore breeze making the surf clean as a whistle. It’s not a monster, but the conditions will make it perfect. That’s the pick of the first week. The swell fades quickly after that, dropping to under 3 ft by Monday, and the rest of the week sees tiny, weak energy (down to 37 combined energy on Wednesday) with odd periods and onshore breezes.

Looking further ahead, there’s a promising blip around the middle of the second week. On Friday the 17th and Saturday the 18th of July, a long-period groundswell pushes in from the ESE. It’s big – 6 ft – and the period is very long at 15 to 16 seconds. The wind is strong and cross-offshore, which keeps the surface clean, but that kind of period can make a beach break like Stockroute a bit straight and tricky. It’s for experts only. The energy is strong (1698 on Friday morning), so the power is there.

Then, into the 20th and 21st, we see a nice little window. Monday the 20th morning has a 5 ft ENE swell with light offshore winds – clean, surfable, and much more manageable. Tuesday the 21st has a 3 ft SSE swell with a crazy 17-second period and glassy offshores. That’s a long-period groundswell that will wrap in nicely, with long waiting periods between sets. It’s not big, but it’ll be classy if you’re in the right spot.

Late in the run, Wednesday the 22nd morning looks good for a clean 5 ft swell from the SSE with light offshores. But after that, the wind turns onshore and lumpy from the 23rd onwards, shutting it down.

The standout window is undeniably the clean Sunday morning of the 12th and the big, but clean, Saturday morning of the 11th. For the longer-term, the Monday the 20th morning window looks like the best blend of size and clean conditions.

Keep an eye on those long-period swells around the 17th and 21st – they could be special at the right bank.

Rusty.

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