Papa Tangaroa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a yarn about what’s on the cards for Papa Tangaroa. This is a serious reef setup, so you wanna be on your game. It’s fairly consistent and exposed to the south swell, so when the ocean’s feeling it, this place can go off. Water temp’s sitting at 69°, which is pretty average for this time of year, nothing wild.

First up, Wednesday the 29th is a write-off. You’ve got a moderate cross-onshore blowing at 12 mph and it’s choppy as. The combined swell energy is 1319 but the conditions are poor, so leave the board in the car.

Now Thursday morning the 30th is where it gets interesting. You’ve got clean surf with a light WNW cross-offshore breeze at just 6 mph. Swell’s 5 ft from the SW at a solid 12 seconds. It’s glassy, clean, and the combined energy is 1048. This is an excellent window for experienced surfers. Thursday arvo the wind picks up to 16 mph out of the NW, still cross-off but the energy drops a bit to 796 and the feeling goes marginal. The morning is the pick.

Friday the 31st brings bigger swell – 7 ft to 7 ft from the WSW, period dropping to 10 seconds. Wind is fresh cross-off at 19 to 22 mph. It’s clean but with that shorter period, it’s not quite as nice. Combined energy sits at 1015 to 1055, but the scores are marginal. It’s a step down.

Saturday the 1st of August continues the theme – 7 ft to 8 ft from the WSW, period 11 to 13 seconds, clean with a fresh cross-off. The arvo session hits a combined energy of 3762, which is strong, but again the scoring says marginal. It’s a lot of water moving, so not for beginners.

Sunday the 2nd of August morning is the true standout for the first week. You’ve got 6 ft from the SW at 12 seconds, a light cross-off from the west at only 6 mph, and the combined energy is 1821. It’s excellent surf for experienced surfers. Clean, lovely. The arvo gets a bit of cross-chop with light rain and a cross-shore breeze, so stick to the morning.

The outlook then goes downhill fast. From Monday the 3rd, you’ve got a big pulse – 10 ft from the SSW with a very long 16-second period, combined energy near 5000. But the wind is onshore and strong, up to 31 mph with near gale conditions on Monday arvo. It’s a mess. Tuesday the 4th through Sunday the 9th is a long stretch of poor surf – persistent fresh to strong cross-onshore winds, lumpy and messy conditions, swell heights from 4 ft to 12 ft but all windy and blown out. Not worth paddling out.

There’s a small window of possibility around Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th of August – 6 ft to 8 ft from the SW, periods 13 to 15 seconds, with moderate cross-shore winds. The combined energy is still strong (2109 to 2103) but the surf is only marginal. Then Wednesday the 12th morning stands out – clean offshore wind from the NNW at 19 mph, swell 8 ft from the SSW at 13 seconds, combined energy 1718. Scores it as marginal but the offshore wind is a big plus. That arvo the wind swings to a cross-onshore and the quality drops.

From Thursday the 13th onward, it’s back to poor conditions, small swell around 3 ft to 4 ft, and lumpy cross-onshore winds. A long blank run.

So for the standout window: Thursday 30th July morning. Clean, glassy, 5 ft SW groundswell, light offshore breeze. That’s the one you want.

Rusty

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