Tauranga Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Tauranga Bay. I’ve got to be straight with you – this is one of those stretches where the ocean is being real stingy. The whole 16-day window is pretty much a write-off for anything decent. We’ve got a long, flat gap starting right now, so don’t bother waxing up just yet.

The water temp is sitting at 60°, which is about what you’d expect for this time of year. Nothing wild there.

We start off with almost nothing. Monday the 24th of August has tiny dribbles around 0.3ft to 0.7ft. There’s a bit of glass early Tuesday morning, but with that kind of size, it’s barely a ripple. The combined energy is next to nothing (8 to 22), so it’s a hard pass.

Wednesday the 26th and Thursday the 27th are much the same story – ankle-slappers at best. The swell direction is all over the shop, mostly from the NE or NNE, but the period is around 10 seconds, which is average. The winds are light to moderate, but there’s no push in the water.

Friday the 28th sees a slight bump in height, up to 3ft to 3ft, but it’s a short-period windswell (4 to 5 seconds) coming from the north, with onshore winds. That’s going to be a messy, choppy mess. Energy kicks up a bit (50 to 60), but it’s low-quality stuff.

Saturday the 29th of August is the biggest we see, with the morning showing 4ft from the NNE, and the combined energy hitting 202 – that’s moderate wave energy. But the period is a short 6 seconds, and the morning has a light cross-onshore wind. It’s still labelled as poor surf conditions. The afternoon clears up and goes cross-offshore, but the swell drops back to 4ft and the energy falls off (119). This is the closest we get to anything, but it’s far from a standout. It’s a beach-and-reef setup, so with a short-period, weaker swell and onshore wind, you’d honestly be better off looking for a kite session if that’s your thing.

Sunday the 30th through to the end of the first week, we’ve got 1ft to 3ft leftovers with clean conditions but just no power. Energy stays in the low three-digit or high two-digit range. Tuesday the 1st of September is similar, with clean offshore winds but the swell just doesn’t have any grunt.

The second week is even more barren. From Wednesday the 2nd of September onward, the swell drops to 1ft to 2ft with mostly clean but strong to fresh winds. Energy levels fall into the double digits (32 to 62). The last few days show a little bump on Saturday the 5th of September with a 3ft NW windswell, but the wind is cross-on and fresh, so it’s choppy and unattractive. It never gets good.

There are no true standouts here. The only period that even offers a flicker of hope is Saturday the 29th of August with that 4ft morning pulse, but the short period and the wind conditions ruin it. For beginners, the surf never gets big enough to be dangerous, but it also never gets good enough to be worth the paddle.

For a spot like Tauranga Bay that can be fairly consistent, this is an unusually blank run. Forecasts can change, but right now, you’re better off doing something else.

Rusty

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