Tairua Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu for Tairua Beach over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be honest with ya – the next few days are a real struggle. We’ve got a long, slow start with almost nothing to get excited about until we hit the second week. The water temp is sitting at 59°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The first real flicker of life shows up on Friday morning, the 31st of July. It’s not perfect, but we’ll see a bump in swell to 5ft coming from the north with a short, choppy period of 7 seconds. The wind is cross-offshore from the west, which will keep things reasonably clean. The combined energy is moderate (321). It’s a bit raw and short-period, but it’s the first sign of something to ride. That afternoon, the swell pushes to 5ft and the wind picks up a bit, but it’s still clean.

Saturday the 1st of August starts with a tiny 2ft easterly groundswell, period of 13 seconds, and glassy offshore winds from the SSW. The combined energy is weak (136). It’s small, but for a beginner, that’s a perfect window – clean, tiny, and no crowd pressure. The spot is “fairly consistent” and “sometimes” crowded, but with these tiny waves, you’ll have it to yourself.

Then we hit a dry spell again. From Sunday the 2nd right through to Tuesday the 4th, the swell just drops away to nothing – 0.7ft junk. It’s a proper lull.

Wednesday the 5th of August sees a little pulse of 4ft from the ENE, but it’s got a short, weak period of only 5 seconds. The combined energy is weak (93). The wind is cross-offshore from the SE, so it’ll be clean, but the waves will be lumpy and weak. Thursday the 6th is similar – 3ft, 6 seconds, but with glassy conditions in the morning. It’s ordinary, but you could get a few if you’re desperate.

Now, the real standout is a long way off, but it’s worth waiting for. On Thursday the 13th of August, we’ve got a solid 7ft easterly groundswell with a nice long period of 10 seconds pushing in. The combined energy is strong (951). The wind is light offshore from the southwest in the morning – dead clean. That’s your best session of the whole outlook. The swell is pushing 7ft, so it’s heading into expert territory, but for competent surfers, it’s going to be firing. The swell direction from the east is right in the optimum zone for Tairua Beach.

The days leading up to it are messy. The 11th and 12th of August see big, powerful swell – 10ft – but with howling onshore winds from the NE and ESE, making it a total washout. That’s more of a kiteboarding setup than a paddling one. The 12th afternoon does clean up a bit with cross-offshore winds, but the swell is dropping through the 8ft mark.

So, to wrap it up: the first week is a write-off unless you’re a beginner on the 1st of August. The real gold is on Thursday the 13th of August – that’s the day to circle on the calendar. It’s a long way out, so keep an eye on the forecasts, but if it holds, Tairua Beach will be the spot.

Rusty.

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