
Surf Forecasts:
Castlepoint - The Gap surf forecast from 2 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 4 Jul, 9PM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 11s period, ENE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 9 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 10s period, SSE swell with 3,367 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 4 Jul, 6AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 12s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Castlepoint - The Gap this week:
The surf forecast for Castlepoint - The Gap over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 04) at 6AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.4m and 12s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Castlepoint - The Gap in the next 16 days are 4.5m 10s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 09) at 3PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 4s period and expected on Tuesday (Jul 07) at 9PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 6AM (Sat 4th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 9PM (Sat 4th Jul) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 3PM (Thu 9th Jul) | 15ft (4.5m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Castlepoint - The Gap over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for The Gap at Castlepoint.
Right off the bat, the next few days are pretty average. Friday 3 July has some 4ft to 4ft waves from the east, periods around 10 to 13 seconds, but the wind is not doing us any favours and the energy is only moderate (351 to 543). Saturday 4 July isn’t much better – 5ft east swell, but a cross-shore wind kills the quality. Sunday 5 July morning pushes up to 6ft from the northeast, but that’s a short-period 8-second wind swell, so it’ll be lumpy and weak (713 energy). There’s a real flat spot Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 July with onshore winds and rain, making for messy, onshore junk.
Wednesday 8 July brings a big 12ft east swell with 11-second period, but a near-gale cross-onshore wind will have it blown to bits. Thursday 9 July is still big, 8ft to 12ft, but the cross-shore is fresh, so the wave face will be lumpy.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Friday 10 July morning – that’s the first real standout. The swell holds at 10ft from the east, period 11 seconds, and we get clean conditions with a cross-offshore wind from the southwest (2245 energy). It’s a powerful, well-ordered groundswell, but at 10ft it’s solidly in expert territory. For the experienced crew, this is the window.
After that, the swell drops off through the weekend, and we get a cleaner run from Sunday 12 July morning through Tuesday 14 July – 5ft to 5ft east-southeast swells, periods of 9 to 11 seconds, with light to moderate offshore winds from the northwest. These are good, clean, user-friendly waves for a wider range of surfers. Light crowds possible, as it’s often busy. The water temp is about normal for this time of year, so a standard winter wetsuit setup.
Then, watch out for Wednesday 15 July and Thursday 16 July. Two massive standouts. Wednesday morning: 8ft from the southeast with a very long 16-second period, light offshore wind, clean – 3307 energy. Thursday morning: 10ft from the southeast, period 14 seconds, light offshore again – 3567 energy. These are excellent, powerful groundswells for experienced surfers. The very long period means the waves will have serious push, and at a reef/point setup like The Gap, it’ll be well-shaped. Just be aware, at 8ft to 10ft, it’s not a day for beginners.
After that, Friday 17 and Saturday 18 July get messy again with strong southerly winds. So in summary, the pick of the 16-day run is Friday 10 July morning for the big, clean East swell, and then Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 July mornings for the long-period southeast groundswells. Get on it if you’ve got the experience.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Very mild (max 15°C on Sun afternoon, min 8°C on Fri morning). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 76mm), heaviest during Wed afternoon. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon morning, min 8°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (calm on Tue afternoon, near gales from the S by Wed afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 3 | Saturday 4 | Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 13 | E 12 | E 12 | E 11 | E 11 | ENE 8 | E 10 | E 9 | E 10 | S 9 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | E 12 | E 10 | E 10 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SE 10 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
313 | 538 | 566 | 538 | 476 | 224 | 379 | 140 | 180 | 240 | 356 | 1360 | 996 | 890 | 900 | 1124 | 908 | 1026 | 2618 | 3367 | 2321 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross |
High Tide | 7:39PM1.18m | 8:14AM1.09m | 8:27PM1.17m | 8:57AM1.11m | 9:16PM1.18m | 9:41AM1.15m | 10:04PM1.20m | 10:24AM1.20m | 10:51PM1.23m | 11:10AM1.26m | 11:38PM1.27m | 11:59AM1.33m | 00:27AM1.31m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:25PM0.25m | 2:20AM0.22m | 2:10PM0.22m | 3:03AM0.19m | 2:57PM0.20m | 3:46AM0.17m | 3:45PM0.19m | 4:28AM0.16m | 4:34PM0.17m | 5:12AM0.15m | 5:24PM0.15m | 5:56AM0.13m | 6:15PM0.13m | ||||||||
7:39 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | |
— | 4:58 | — | — | 4:58 | — | — | 4:59 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 9 | 4 | — | — |
Temp °C | 11 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Feels °C | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 13 | E 12 | E 12 | E 11 | E 11 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | E 9 | S 6 | S 9 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | E 12 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 |
313 | 538 | 566 | 538 | 476 | 224 | 379 | 140 | 180 | 78 | 356 | 1360 | 996 | 890 | 900 | 1124 | 908 | 650 | 783 | 47 | 225 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 13 | S 8 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | S 12 | E 10 | E 10 | S 15 | S 21 | E 10 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | E 10 | S 10 | S 9 | SSW 13 | — | SSW 17 | SSW 20 | SSW 15 |
32 | 5 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 100 | 125 | 4 | 34 | 123 | 577 | 168 | 353 | 593 | 276 | 98 | — | 59 | 75 | 305 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | SW 15 | — | — | — | S 16 | S 16 | S 17 | SSW 15 | SW 13 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | E 10 | SSW 16 | S 15 | SSW 14 | — | — | — | — | SSW 18 |
6 | 8 | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 7 | 73 | 103 | 194 | 86 | 110 | 107 | — | — | — | — | 188 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 3 | N 4 | NNE 4 | N 3 | — | ENE 7 | NNW 3 | NW 3 | S 4 | E 10 | E 6 | — | — | — | NW 3 | — | S 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SE 10 |
9 | 9 | 20 | 5 | — | 183 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 240 | 130 | — | — | — | 11 | — | 304 | 1026 | 2618 | 3367 | 2321 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 16 | 25 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 183 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 167 | 55 | 55 | 28 | 55 | 66 | 135 | 137 | 303 | 258 | 277 | 102 |
Best forecast wave conditions in The Wairarapa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Castlepoint - The Gap Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Castlepoint - The Gap provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Castlepoint - The Gap can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Castlepoint - The Gap surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Castlepoint - The Gap) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Castlepoint - The Gap may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in The Wairarapa? If you are looking for accommodation near Castlepoint - The Gap, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in The Wairarapa, consider staying in Masterton which is 48 km (30 miles) away. Other places in and around The Wairarapa where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Palmerston North which is 80 km (50 miles) away and Levin, 86 km (53 miles) away.










