Castlepoint - The Gap Surf Break

Castlepoint - The Gap Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Lat Long: 40.91° S 176.22° E

Issued: 5 am 03 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Castlepoint - The Gap sea temperature is
13.0° C

Normal for this time of year

Castlepoint - The Gap surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


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 TypeTime (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 Forecast

Light 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 Summary

Heavy 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
Rating
(10 max)
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
3
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.2
E
10
1.3
E
13
1.4
E
12
1.4
E
12
1.4
E
11
1
E
11
1.7
ENE
8
0.8
E
10
1
E
9
1.1
E
10
1.5
S
9
2.5
S
10
2.2
S
10
2.1
S
10
1.8
E
12
2.3
E
10
2.1
E
10
3
SSE
8
4
SSE
9
4.5
SSE
10
3.5
SE
10
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
313
538
566
538
476
224
379
140
180
240
356
1360
996
890
900
1124
908
1026
2618
3367
2321
Wind (km/h)
20
NW
20
NNW
20
NNW
20
NNW
15
NNE
20
N
25
NW
15
N
15
SW
35
SSE
10
E
15
ESE
10
SE
15
ESE
20
SE
30
SSE
50
S
50
SSW
45
S
40
S
30
SSW
Wind State
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
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
light rain
light rain
light rain
mod rain
mod rain
light rain
rain showers
heavy rain
heavy rain
mod rain
light rain
cloud
cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:39
7:39
7:39
7:39
7:39
7:39
7:37
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
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)
1.2
E
10
1.3
E
13
1.4
E
12
1.4
E
12
1.4
E
11
1
E
11
1.7
ENE
8
1
ENE
8
1
E
9
1
S
6
1.5
S
9
2.5
S
10
2.2
S
10
2.1
S
10
1.8
E
12
2.3
E
10
2.1
E
10
1.8
E
10
1.9
E
10
0.3
SSW
15
0.7
SSW
15
Energy kJ
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)
0.3
SSW
13
0.2
S
8
0.2
SSW
14
0.1
SW
13
0.1
SW
13
0.1
S
12
0.7
E
10
0.8
E
10
0.1
S
15
0.2
S
21
0.8
E
10
1.8
ENE
9
1
ENE
9
1.3
E
10
1.8
S
10
1.3
S
9
0.5
SSW
13
0.3
SSW
17
0.3
SSW
20
0.9
SSW
15
Energy kJ
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)
0.2
SSE
8
0.1
SW
15
0.1
S
16
0.1
S
16
0.1
S
17
0.2
SSW
15
0.1
SW
13
0.3
SSW
19
0.4
SSW
18
1
E
10
0.4
SSW
16
0.5
S
15
0.5
SSW
14
0.5
SSW
18
Energy kJ
6
8
5
5
6
21
7
73
103
194
86
110
107
188
Wind waves
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.6
NW
3
0.6
N
4
0.8
NNE
4
0.5
N
3
1.3
ENE
7
0.5
NNW
3
0.3
NW
3
0.4
S
4
1.1
E
10
1.3
E
6
0.7
NW
3
1.4
S
9
3
SSE
8
4
SSE
9
4.5
SSE
10
3.5
SE
10
Energy kJ
9
9
20
5
183
6
1
5
240
130
11
304
1026
2618
3367
2321
Nearest Offshore or Glassy
Rating
(10 max)
2
3
3
3
2
3
2
1
1
3
2
4
4
4
4
3
4
2
4
4
1
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
Rating
(10 max)
3
3
3
3
2
4
2
2
2
4
4
4
4
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand
Rating
(10 max)
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
8
9
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
4
Header Global
Rating
(10 max)
9
5
9
5
5
6
5
9
7
5
8
9
8
6
8
9
6
9
5
5
9
  • Map Icons:
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  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
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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.

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