Tawharanui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna level with you – the next 16 days are a proper grind. We’ve got a long, slow stretch of barely-there swell and only a few moments that might get you a little wet. The first real surfable day isn’t until Monday the 7th, and even then, it’s more about getting out than scoring.

Let’s start with the only spot we’ve got on the cards: Tawharanui. It’s a beach and reef setup, fairly consistent, and it needs a NE swell to work its magic. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no shock to the system there.

The first few days are a bust. Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th are tiny, weak, and messy. We’re talking ankle-snappers with poor energy. Sunday the 6th is just as grim, with a cross-shore breeze making it choppy.

Monday the 7th is where things finally wake up. We’ve got a moderate pulse of energy coming in (149) with a 4ft to 4ft swell from the north. The period is short, around 7 to 8 seconds, so it’s windswell, not groundswell, but it’s something. The wind is cross-off from the west, so it’ll be clean. Still, the surf report calls it ‘poor surf conditions’, so don’t expect perfection. It’s a session for the keen.

Tuesday the 8th is actually the pick of the whole run. The morning sees a clean 3ft from the north with a moderate offshore breeze from the southwest (25 km/h). The energy is moderate (101). The afternoon drops to 2ft but the wind stays clean offshore. It’s surfable, and the conditions are about as good as we’re going to get. This is your window.

Then it goes quiet again. From Wednesday the 9th all the way through to Tuesday the 15th, the swell is tiny, the energy is weak, and the wind is either howling offshore or just wrong. There’s a period of near gale-force winds on Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th that makes paddling out a joke – the swell is a pathetic 0.7ft, so it’s not worth a second look.

The next glimmer is on Wednesday the 16th. The morning brings a 6ft pulse from the NNW with a period of 7 seconds and moderate energy (302). The wind is a gentle cross-off from the west, so it’ll be clean. But the call is ‘marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions’. That’s a big caveat. For a beginner, 6ft might be a bit much, and for the rest of us, the short period means it’ll be a bit lumpy. It’s a maybe, not a goer.

The final days, Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th, are back to small and weak. Saturday the 19th is a light cross-on breeze with a 3ft north swell, but it’s poor.

Honestly, if you’re after a paddle, Tuesday the 8th is your best bet. It’s not a classic, but it’s the most consistent, cleanest option we’ve got. The rest of the fortnight is a lesson in patience. Forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a quiet stretch.

Rusty.

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