Tawharanui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, your local surf reporter.

Alright, let’s be straight with you – we’re in for a pretty flat and frustrating run here at Tawharanui. The 16-day window opens with barely a ripple and, to be honest, it’s a long, grim stretch before anything remotely rideable shows up. The water temp is sitting around 58°F, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there, but you’ll be wanting a good wetsuit.

We kick off on Thursday, August 20, with tiny 1ft swell out of the ESE, period a short 9 seconds, and combined energy at a measly 26. Light offshore SSW wind keeps it clean, but honestly, it’s poor surf conditions. That sets the tone. Friday and Saturday see even smaller waves, barely 1ft and 0.7ft, with cross-off winds. It’s not happening.

Sunday the 23rd shows a little blip – 3ft from the NNW, but it’s a messy, short-period 4-5 second windswell with a fresh breeze. Combined energy hits 44 to 56, still weak, and the cross-off wind just makes it lumpy. Not worth paddling out.

Monday the 24th has a clean morning with 1ft from the NNW and light offshore SSW wind, but again, it’s just too small. The rest of that week stays flat, with most days seeing 0.3ft or less. By Thursday the 27th, a NNW windswell pushes up to 3ft to 4ft, but it’s cross-on with a moderate to fresh breeze, making it choppy and poor.

Finally, on Friday the 28th, we get a bit of a lift. Swell hits 5ft from the NNW, combined energy jumps to 156 (moderate), and with a fresh WSW cross-off wind in the morning and offshore in the afternoon, it cleans up nicely. Still, it’s short period (6 seconds) and the break is a beach and reef setup – not ideal for that kind of windswell, but it’s the best we’ll see in a while. This is for experts only, as it’s over 5ft, and the inconsistent nature of Tawharanui means you’ll have to work for the sets.

From Saturday the 29th, it drops back to small, messy stuff. Then, from Sunday the 30th right through to the end of the forecast on Friday, September 4, we see a persistent onshore flow from the ENE to NE, with chop and lumpy conditions. Swell builds gradually – by Wednesday September 2, we’ve got 3ft to 4ft from the NE, combined energy around 184-209 (moderate), but the wind is cross-on or onshore, making it a write-off for quality surfing. On Friday September 4, a 10ft NNE swell rolls in with combined energy over 900 (strong to very strong), but it’s short period (8 seconds) and blowing onshore from the NE at 12-18 mph. That’s more kite surfing territory than paddle surfing at a beach-and-reef spot like this.

Look, if you’re desperate, the Friday August 28 session is the only real standout, but it’s a stretch. The rest of this outlook is a blank run, which for Tawharanui is pretty normal when the swells don’t align. Forecasts can change, but for now, don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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