Tawharanui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this stretch of water is looking pretty quiet. We’ve got a 16-day window ahead, but it’s not a pretty picture. The first few days are basically a write-off for any real surf. The first time we see anything close to rideable is on Sunday, 6 September, but even then, it’s not exactly firing.

From Wednesday, 26 August through to Saturday, 5 September, you’re looking at a long, flat run. The swell is tiny, mostly around 0.3ft to 1ft, and the energy readings are pathetic – we’re talking single and low double digits like 7, 9, 25, all the way up to 70. The winds are messy, mostly cross-off or cross-on, and the few offshore days we get on the 31st and 1st are still blowing over a flat ocean. It’s a tough stretch. For a spot like Tawharanui (beach and reef), you’d be better off staying home.

Then we get to the 6th of September. Sunday morning looks like a tiny glimmer. We’ve got a 3ft swell from the NNW, but the period is a snappy 5 seconds – that’s short-period windswell, not much power behind it. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing wild. The real kicker is the wind: glassy. Clean as a whistle. The energy reading is 49, so it’s weak, but the conditions are calm enough that you might get a few small, clean rollers. The wave comment calls it "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions," and honestly, for a spot that’s been dead for over a week, that’s the best we’ve got. If you’re desperate, you could get wet on a longboard, but don’t get your hopes up.

The rest of the outlook after that Sunday morning goes downhill again. The afternoon of the 6th gets onshore wind, and the following days through to the 10th of September are plagued by cross-onshore winds and choppy, lumpy conditions. Swell stays small, under 4ft, with weak energy readings. The 7th of September morning has a 4ft swell from the north, but it’s 6-second period junk with a 12 mph cross-on wind – that’s just messy.

So, the only standout – and I mean *only* – is that Sunday morning, 6 September, at Tawharanui. It’s glassy, it’s clean, but it’s tiny. For the rest of the 16 days, it’s a bust. If you’re a kite surfer, the afternoon of the 29th of August has a 5ft swell and 22 mph wind, but that’s cross-on and lumpy, so paddling is out.

That’s the long and short of it. A flat spell like this is rough, but it won’t last forever. Keep an eye on the charts.

Rusty.

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