Tawharanui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up.

To be honest, the next 16 days are a bit of a flat spell for Tawharanui. There’s nothing really firing, but there are a few windows where you can get a wet suit on and have a paddle, even if it’s not going to set the world on fire.

We start off this Friday, the 17th of July, with a tiny bit of energy. The swell is coming from the East at a mere 1ft, but the period is a very long 17 seconds. That’s proper groundswell, but it’s just so small. The water temp is sitting at 15°, which is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual there. The wind is a cross-offshore from the WSW on Friday morning, turning fully offshore in the afternoon. It’ll be clean, but you’ll be scratching for waves. The combined energy is weak, at about 96-92, so it’s not going to push you around.

Saturday the 18th is more of the same – offshore winds keep things glassy, but the swell drops to 1ft and then 1.0ft with the energy dropping to 75 and then 41. It’s clean, but very ordinary.

Then we hit a real lull. From Sunday the 19th all the way through to Thursday the 30th of July, the surf is almost non-existent. Swell heights are below 2ft, periods are all over the place, and the combined energy sinks into the single digits at times. There are some days with offshore winds, but it’s just not enough to push a wave. It’s a solid week and a half of poor conditions.

The first glimmer of something a bit more interesting shows up on Friday the 31st of July. The morning brings a 3ft swell from the NNW with a period of just 5 seconds – that’s short period windswell, so it’ll be a bit bumpy. The wind is cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean. The combined energy jumps to 90, which is still weak. It’s a far cry from good, but it’s the best we’ve seen in a while.

The weekend of the 1st of August tries to build a little. The swell hits 4ft on Saturday morning, but the wind is a light cross-onshore, making it messy. The energy is 127, which is still only moderate. The afternoon gets ugly with a 22 mph cross-shore wind from the ESE, making it choppy and lumpy. The wave period is a pathetic 6 seconds, so it’s really just a mess. This setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, if you’re into that.

So, the only real standout, if you can call it that, is the morning of Friday the 31st of July. The winds will be clean, and you’ll find a few small, crumbly waves. It’s not a classic Tawharanui day, but it’s the only chance to get wet without getting blown off the water. Don’t get your hopes up for the rest of it.

Rusty.

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