Takapuna-North Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks at Takapuna-North Reef.

Honestly, the overall pattern is a bit of a bummer. Looking at the whole 16-day window, we're seeing a real drought of decent surf. There’s nothing that would get me out of bed early, and it's going to be a long, quiet stretch after the middle of this week. The combined swell energy is weak for the entire period, rarely even reaching 50, which is a tell-tale sign that the ocean is practically asleep.

Tuesday the 11th is just about the only day that even warrants a mention, and even then it's a tough sell. We’ve got a small pulse of swell arriving in the morning, with a weak 1ft from the north, but it's a short period of 8 seconds. The saving grace is a glassy calm wind – dead flat conditions – that will keep the water looking like a mirror. The wave energy is pitiful at 19, so it’s not surf you’d paddle for. By the afternoon, the wind swings to a light cross-onshore from the NE at 6 mph, and the swell is a tiny 2ft. The break is sheltered from the NE, so that cross breeze will likely ruin things further. It’s a beginner-level spot, but with this lack of power, it's more of a splash-around than a surf.

From Wednesday the 12th onwards, things go downhill fast. We get a bit more height on Wednesday – up to 3ft – but the period drops to a dreadful 4-5 seconds, meaning nothing but fat, crumbly bumps. A moderate cross-onshore wind at 12 mph will have it chopped up and messy. After that, the swell disappears. From Thursday the 15th through to the end of the window on Wednesday the 26th, the swell heights are mostly 0.3ft or 0.7ft, with the combined energy dropping to single digits. There’s a few days with clean, cross-offshore winds, but with no swell to work with, that’s just a waste of a good breeze.

One interesting note: on the 22nd and 23rd of August, we see a long-period swell trying to show up, with the period hitting 12 to 13 seconds. The direction is from the north, which is a good fit for the break, but the height is only 0.3ft. That’s what we call a "ghost swell" – it has the energy and the period, but absolutely no push. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no shock there.

So, the best on offer? It’s the Tuesday morning 11th, and only because it's the least bad. It’s glassy, and the reef might just hold that tiny 1ft if you’re on a longboard and desperate. Don't expect much, though. The rest is a solid two-week blank run. This is the kind of forecast that has you checking the gear in the shed.

Rusty.

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