Tawharanui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mate, Rusty here. Let’s have a good look at what’s on the cards for Tawharanui over the next couple of weeks.

Truth be told, the outlook is a long, flat, drawn-out affair with very little to get the heart rate up. We’re kick-starting this Sunday the 23rd with weak, sloppy stuff—only 3ft swell from the NNW but a short, wind-chopped 5-second period and a northwest breeze making a mess of things. The combined wave energy is weak (55). Not worth paddling out.

Monday the 24th through to Thursday the 3rd of September is dominated by tiny swell barely scraping 0.7ft to 1ft at best, mostly from the NE and ENE. Periods sit around 9 to 11 seconds, but there’s just no size. Combined energy values are in the weak range (single digits into the teens). It’s clean under offshore winds on many mornings, but for a beach-and-reef setup like Tawharanui, you need a pulse. There isn’t one.

A bit of a pulse shows on Friday the 28th with around 3ft to 4ft of messy N/NNW windswell, but the wind is crossed to cross-onshore, and the periods are short (4 to 5 seconds). Combined energy hits 45 to 73, but it’s still poor surf. Not worth the drive.

Saturday the 29th offers a *slight* glimmer: still small at 3ft to 3ft from the N, but the wind goes light offshore and even glassy in the afternoon. The energy is moderate (93). Conditions will be clean, but the swell is weak and short, so the waves will be small and a bit gutless. It’s surfable but very ordinary.

Then it’s back to flatness from Sunday the 30th right through to Friday the 4th of September. Tawharanui has tiny 0.7ft to 2ft dribble, clean but no power.

Now, here’s the one standout on the horizon. Saturday the 5th of September: the ESE swell jumps to 5ft to 6ft, but the period is short (6 seconds) so it’s a windswell, not groundswell. Combined energy jumps into the moderate range (164 to 233) and the wind is a fresh offshore from the SW, so the surf will be clean. The thing is, Tawharanui is exposed to the NE as its optimum direction, and this ESE swell might not line up perfectly for the best shape. At 6ft, this is getting too big for beginners and is more suited to capable surfers. But it’s the best window in a long, flat stretch.

Sunday the 6th drops back to 2ft from the E/ENE, clean but small. Monday the 7th of September brings tiny 3ft dribble from the NNW with gentle offshore wind—surfable but hardly a standout.

Bottom line: there’s a long dry gap from now until the end of August, with only a brief, average window on the 29th. The one chance for anything with a bit of grunt is the 5th of September, and even that’s not a classic. For Tawharanui, this kind of flat spell isn’t unusual, but if you’re desperate, keep an eye on that Saturday the 5th when the offshore wind and moderate swell might deliver a few clean, punchy ones for the crew who don't mind the short period.

Stay patient. Rusty.

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