Tawharanui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Tawharanui over the next couple of weeks.

To be honest, it’s a pretty grim start. The first real surfable conditions don’t show up until Sunday the 26th of July, and even then it’s only described as “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” The swell is tiny, around 1ft from the NNW with a weak period of 7 seconds, and the combined wave energy is a meagre 44. The wind is a light cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean, but there’s next to no power in the water. A beginner might find something to play on, but that’s about it.

The following week doesn’t get much better. Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th serve up similarly small, weak swells (1ft to 2ft) from the east, with periods of 13 to 14 seconds. That longer period adds a bit of shape, but the energy is still low – 59 on Monday afternoon, 101 on Tuesday morning. The wind is offshore or cross-offshore, so it’s clean, but it’s barely surfable. The crowd profile at Tawharanui can be “often” busy, but with these conditions, it’s likely to be quiet.

We then hit a real blank patch from around Wednesday the 29th of July all the way through to the end of the month. The swell stays tiny, around 2ft, but the wind turns onshore and cross-onshore, making it choppy and poor. The combined energy does climb to 134 on Friday the 31st, but the swell is still only 2ft with a short period of 12 seconds, so it’s messy.

Now, the standout – and it’s a big one – comes on Saturday the 1st of August. This is the only real pulse of serious swell in the whole 16-day window. The morning sees a 12ft swell from the north-northeast with a period of 9 seconds, and the combined energy rockets to a massive 2035. That’s a lot of water moving. The afternoon drops to 8ft with a period of 10 seconds and energy of 1410. This is big, powerful, and for experts only. The catch is the wind: it’s a moderate cross-onshore from the east-northeast at 12 mph, so it’s going to be choppy and blown out. Given the size and the wind, Tawharanui, being a beach and reef setup, might actually be more interesting for the kite surfers on that day than for paddle surfers. For a board rider, you’d need to be a very experienced local to get anything out of it.

The swell then backs off quickly. Sunday the 2nd of August is still moderate at 5ft to 5ft, but the wind is a fresh onshore, making it ugly. After that, the rest of the week sees a return to small, weak swells, though the wind does finally ease off. Wednesday the 5th of August through to Friday the 7th of August offers the best chance of any clean, small waves. The combined energy sits around 100 to 150, with 2ft to 3ft waves from the east-northeast. The wind is light, cross-offshore, or even glassy, so the surf will be clean. It’s still very small, but for a longboard or a foamie, it’s the best end to the outlook.

The water temperature is around 58°F, which is about 0.9°F cooler than normal for this time of year, so it’s pretty much average for the season – a bit chilly, but nothing unusual.

To sum it up: the only real swell is on the 1st of August, but it’s blown out and huge. After that, it’s a long wait for clean, tiny waves in the second week. The end of the outlook is the most promising for a quiet, clean surf, but don’t expect to get your heart racing.

Rusty.

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