Whangamata Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming down the pipe for Whangamata Bar.

It’s gonna be a tough slog to start. Right now and through the end of July and the first week of August, there’s just not much to get excited about. We’ve got a few days of tiny, weak swells – nothing over 2ft for the first few days, with very ordinary conditions. The combined swell energy is low, around 78, so there’s hardly any punch. Honestly, it’s a bit of a flat spell. There’s a window around Friday morning, July 31st, where a 4ft north swell shows up with clean offshore west winds, but it’s a short-period windswell at just 7 seconds, so it’ll be a bit bumpy and won’t hold much shape. The scores for these days are very low, so I’d say wait it out. The water temp is about 59°, which is normal for the time of year.

We then hit a real quiet patch from Saturday, August 1st through to early August. Days of poor surf with tiny waves under 0.7ft and very weak energy readings, all the way down in the teens and twenties. The wind does go glassy on Sunday afternoon, the 2nd of August, but with a 0.7ft swell, you’re just floating. It’s a proper lull.

Now, there is a glimmer late in the second week. On Friday the 7th of August, things start to stir with a 6ft NNW swell, but the wind is messy, and there’s rain around. The energy jumps to 584, which is a sign of life, but the conditions are marginal.

The real standout – and I mean the only one worth marking on the calendar – arrives on Wednesday, the 12th of August. The morning brings clean 6ft groundswell from ENE with a proper period of 11 seconds and light offshore west winds. The combined energy is 776, so it’s got some grunt. Then it gets even better in the afternoon. We’re looking at a 8ft ENE swell, still with that long 11-second period, and the wind goes cross-offshore. The energy rockets up to 2349 – that’s proper power. This is the pick of the outlook: solid, clean waves for experienced crew. The swell direction (ENE) matches up nicely with what the spot likes (NE). There’s some crowd potential here, so expect it to be busy.

Thursday the 13th of August keeps the run going with a clean 7ft ENE swell in the morning under light offshore wind. But by the afternoon, the swell jumps to 15ft – that’s too big for this setup, even for experts. It’ll be a washing machine. Friday the 14th still has big swell, with 13ft in the morning and 10ft in the afternoon, but the wind is strong offshore, making it tricky. That’s big-wave territory only, and it might be more interesting for the kites. Still, the quality for experienced surfers on Wednesday and Thursday morning is as good as it gets in this outlook.

So, to put it simply: the next ten days are a write-off. But if you’ve got patience, Wednesday the 12th and the morning of Thursday the 13th are your targets. The rest is either flat or out of control.

Rusty.

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