Tauranga Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's have a look at what's on offer for Tauranga Bay.

To be honest, the next few days are a bit of a write-off. We’re looking at a real slow start with tiny, weak waves. The water temp is sitting about average for this time of year, which is nice.

Wednesday the 15th and Thursday the 16th are a total non-event. You’re looking at tiny 1-foot dribbles with hardly any energy behind them. Not worth getting wet for.

We finally see a pulse of energy arrive on Friday morning the 17th. The swell jumps to 2 feet from the east with a 17-second period, giving us moderate energy. The wind is light and cross-offshore, so the conditions will be clean. It’s small, but it’s real groundswell, so the shape should be better than what we’ve seen. Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th hold similar small but clean conditions, with the swell staying around 2-2 feet from the east-southeast. It’s nothing to get excited about, but it’s surfable.

Then we hit a bit of a rough patch. Monday the 20th through to Thursday the 24th is a messy period. The wind cranks up from the east, gusting 18-22 mph, and the swell gets short and choppy with periods of only 6-7 seconds. There’s plenty of energy in the water, but it’s just poor quality, wind-affected junk. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The standout window is the last weekend of the month and into the following week. Saturday the 25th sees the swell start to build, with the afternoon pushing 5 feet from the northeast. The energy is ramping up strong. The wind is still a bit of a factor, so it’s marginal.

But Sunday the 26th morning is the real gem. We’ve got a clean 5-foot swell from the east-northeast, with true offshore winds from the south-southeast. The energy is solid. This is where you want to be. It’s a beginner-friendly height, but the clean conditions and long-period groundswell (10 seconds) will make for some proper fun lines.

Monday the 27th morning is also a beauty. The swell is 4 feet, the wind is light offshore, and by the afternoon it goes glassy. The energy is strong. This is the best on offer. The swell direction is east-northeast, which is close to the optimum for Tauranga Bay. It’s a consistent spot, so it’ll be working. Just keep in mind the crowds are rare here, so you might have it mostly to yourself.

After that, the swell drops off again through Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th, with more ordinary conditions. Not a bad run, but the real magic is that Sunday-Monday window.

Rusty.

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