Whangamata Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next two weeks at Whangamata Bar are a real struggle. There’s nothing on the cards worth paddling out for until the very end of the period, and even then it’s a bit of a gamble. The first week and a half is pretty much a write-off, with tiny, weak swell and poor conditions. The water temp is about 60°, which is pretty normal for this time of year.

From Tuesday the 18th right through to the morning of Saturday the 29th, it’s all tiny, weak surf. We’re talking ankle-snappers, with swell heights mostly under 2ft, and the combined energy is barely a whisper – often in the single digits (4 to 44). The wind is mostly offshore or cross-off, so it’s clean, but there’s just no swell to work with. It’s frustrating.

The one glimmer of hope shows up on Saturday the 29th of August. The afternoon brings a bit of a pulse: a 5ft swell from the north, with a period of 7 seconds and a combined energy of 383 – that’s moderate energy. The wind is light and cross-off, so it’ll be clean. At 5ft, it’s getting into intermediate territory, but it’s the only time in the whole window that looks even remotely surfable. That’s your standout, but don’t expect a world-class session.

After that, Sunday the 30th shows a bigger 7ft to 7ft north swell, but the wind is all over the shop – onshore, even cross-on with a strong breeze on Sunday afternoon, making it messy. The morning of the 30th is risk t-storms and onshore wind, so that’s a hard pass. The energy is high (704 to 880), but the quality is wrecked.

The following week, from Monday the 31st, it drops back to tiny, clean but weak conditions again, with nothing worth rushing for.

So, to sum it up: the only real window is Saturday the 29th afternoon. It’s not epic, but it’s the best we’ve got. Everything else is a flat, clean, frustrating wait.

Rusty.

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