Whangamata Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee, because the next 16 days are looking pretty flat for Whangamata Bar. Honestly, this is a tough one to write. We're staring down a long stretch of small, weak swell that's just not going to give us anything worth paddling out for.

Right from the start, from Monday the 31st of August, it's a quiet scene. The swell is tiny, around 1 ft coming from the NNE with a short period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is a measly 49, so there's just no power in the water. The wind is offshore, keeping things clean, but there's nothing to ride. That same story holds through the first week, with swell heights barely scraping 2 ft and energy levels stuck in the double digits. It's frustrating, because the conditions are often clean, but we're just waiting for a pulse of swell that never comes.

There's a little flicker of hope on Friday the 4th of September. The swell bumps up to 3 ft from the north, with a short period, but the energy is a bit higher at 72. The wind goes offshore, so it's tidy, but it's still just ordinary surf. A blip, not a session.

Then, on Sunday the 6th of September, we see the biggest swell of the whole forecast. The morning brings 3 ft from the north, but the period is a short 5 seconds, so the energy is only 64. It's surfable, but nothing special. The afternoon is where it gets wild. The wind swings to the NNW and blows up to 30 km/h, the swell jumps to 7 ft from the NNW, and the energy rockets to 639. That's a lot of water moving, but with a short period and that fresh wind, it's going to be a messy, blown-out washing machine. It's big enough for advanced surfers only, but honestly, the quality is poor. It looks more like a day for the kites to be flying at Whangamata Bar than for a clean paddle session.

After that, it's back to the grind. The rest of the second week is a snooze-fest. Swell stays under 3 ft, mostly from the ENE or NE, with low energy. The best we get is some clean, glassy conditions on the afternoon of Monday the 14th of September, with the wind going dead calm. But there's just 1 ft of swell. It's a beautiful, empty lineup, but you'd need a magic carpet to get a ride.

So, the bottom line is this: there's no standout session here. The 6th of September afternoon has the size, but the conditions are going to be rough. For the rest of the 16 days, it's a flat spell. The inconsistent nature of the break is showing its true colours here. Keep your gear ready, because when it changes, it can change fast, but right now, I'd be finding something else to do.

Rusty

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