Whangamata Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer at Whangamata Bar. I’ve gotta be straight with you – the first week and a half is a tough watch. We’re looking at a real dry spell before things finally show a pulse towards the end of the run.

Right now, it’s a quiet start. The first hints of anything surfable show up on Monday morning, the 10th of August, but it’s ordinary – a small 4ft swell out of the NNE with a short period of 8 seconds and just moderate wave energy (214). The wind is cross-off, so it’s not completely blown out, but the quality is nothing to write home about. Tuesday the 11th morning is actually glassy with the wind swinging SW, but the swell is tiny at 3ft and energy is weak (85). That afternoon, the wind flips onshore and it’s messy again.

After that, we hit a proper dead zone. From Wednesday the 12th right through to Friday the 21st of August, it’s nearly all poor surf conditions. We see some bumps in swell size – like Thursday the 13th morning with 6ft from the NE but crap wind, and the energy jumps (464) – but it’s cross-onshore or onshore the whole time. That’s beach-break territory so it’s going to be a choppy, wind-affected mess. Honestly, that setup looks way more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for most of that stretch.

Finally, there’s a flicker of life on Saturday the 15th afternoon. The wind cleans up to offshore from the west, a 5ft ENE groundswell with a 9-second period, and moderate energy (356). The forecast says “expect good surf conditions,” and that’s the standout of the whole outlook. Whangamata Bar can handle that direction, and with clean offshore wind, it’ll be the best session of the run. It’s an inconsistent break by nature, so when it lines up like this, you want to be in the water. Crowds are possible here, so get in early.

Sunday the 16th also holds some decent leftover swell with offshore and cross-off winds, but the energy drops off after that. The surf totally fades by Monday the 18th, with tiny waves and weak energy, and it stays flat or marginal right through to the end of the 16-day window. Even though it’s glassy on the 21st, the swell is weak and short period, so you’re not missing much.

Water temp is around 58° for the start, which is basically average for this time of year, so no drama there.

So, to sum it up: sit tight through the first week of crud, save your energy for Saturday the 15th and maybe the 16th. That’s your window. The rest is a long stretch of flatness and mess. It won’t stay poor forever, but this run is a test of patience.

Rusty.

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