Whangamata Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Whangamata Bar over the next couple of weeks.

Straight up, the first few days are a bit of a struggle. We’ve got a bit of swell around on Friday July 31st – a 4ft wave from the north with a short, windswell period of just 7 seconds, and offshore winds from the west. It’s surfable, but with combined energy sitting at 209 (moderate), it’s not exactly firing. The water temp is about 59°, which is normal for this time of year – no surprises there. Saturday morning (August 1st) goes dead flat, glassy as anything but only 1ft from the ESE on a long 13-second period. That’s a tease – beautiful conditions, tiny waves. That’s about it for the first week, with a whole lot of small, poor surf from Sunday August 2nd through until Thursday August 6th. Honestly, there’s a real lean patch here of about 5 or 6 days where you wouldn’t bother paddling out.

August 7th sees a spike in wave height (5ft from the NNW on Friday morning) but it’s a messy windswell (6 seconds) with cross-onshore winds making it choppy. The combined energy jumps to 295, which is moderate, but the quality is poor. Not worth a look for a surfer.

Now, we start to see some hope around Sunday August 9th. The morning goes glassy with a 3ft swell from the northeast, 8-second period, giving a combined energy of 131. Still just “surfable” at best, but it’s clean. The real standout is shaping up for the following week. On Wednesday August 12th, the morning looks magic: a 7ft groundswell from the ENE, long period of 11 seconds, and glassy conditions. Combined energy is strong at 967. That’s the pick of the forecast – clean, decent-sized, and powerful. Whangamata Bar is a beach/bar setup, so that longer-period swell might make it a little straight, but with offshore winds predicted it should hold some nice shape. Note that this size (7ft) is pushing into intermediate-expert territory.

Then Thursday August 13th keeps the run going with a 4ft ENE swell, long period still at 11 seconds, and gentle offshore west winds. Combined energy is 400 – moderate, but clean. Friday August 14th drops back to 3ft, still clean, but smaller.

The very last day, Saturday August 15th, has a 2ft swell from the east with cross-offshore winds. Not worth the hype.

So, the headline: Wednesday August 12th morning is the one to circle. Glassy, 7ft, long-period groundswell – get out there early if you can handle a bit of power. That’s your standout. The rest of the run is mostly small or messy. Crowds are only “sometimes” an issue here, so mid-week you might get a few out but nothing crazy.

Stay patient, you often have to wait for the good ones around here. Rusty.

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