Whangamata Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty comin' at ya from the Coromandel. Gotta be straight with you, the next couple weeks are lookin' real flat and quiet around here. We’re in a bit of a dry spell, and it’s gonna take a while before anything worth paddling out for shows up.

The water temp is sittin' around 60°F at the moment, which is pretty much what you’d expect for this time of year. No surprises there.

Right from the get-go, Tuesday afternoon the 18th, Whangamata Beach is showing a tiny 2ft wave from the east with a short 10-second period. The wind is offshore from the southwest at 12 mph, so it’ll be clean, but the energy is weak (44) and the surf quality is poor. Honestly, it’s a log day if you’re desperate, but there’s hardly any push.

Wednesday the 19th through to the end of the first week is a write-off. We’re talking knee-high dribble at best. Wave heights barely hit 1ft on the afternoon of the 19th, and the energy is non-existent. You get a glassy moment on Thursday afternoon the 20th with the wind going dead calm, but the swell is just 1.0ft with an 8-second period. It’s flat, mate.

The whole stretch from Wednesday the 19th all the way through to Saturday morning the 29th is a big, empty gap with nothing worth recommending. There are a few pulses of northerly swell that show up around the 27th, but the winds are onshore and messy, and the period is short. The 29th of August is the first time the numbers even look interesting.

By Saturday afternoon the 29th, the swell bumps up to 5ft from the north, with a period of 7 seconds. The energy jumps to 383 (moderate), but the wind is a light cross-shore from the NNW. The forecast calls it “marginal”. It’s the closest thing we have to a standout, but with that short period and light cross-shore wind, it’s going to be a bit lumpy and hard to read. Not a classic day, but if you’re aching for a wave, it’s the best on offer.

Sunday morning the 30th sees the biggest swell of the whole period: 7ft from the north with an 8-second period. The energy is strong (704). This is expert territory, over 8ft being the real big stuff, but 7ft is still solid. The problem is the wind is a light cross-onshore from the east, and there’s a risk of thunderstorms. The quality is still rated as marginal. For a beach break like Whangamata, a long-period groundswell this isn’t, and the shorter period and cross-onshore wind will make for a bumpy, challenging session.

After that, the surf drops right back down again. Monday the 31st and Tuesday the 1st of September show clean conditions with light offshore winds from the southwest, but the swell is tiny again, around 1.0ft to 2ft.

The last real chance is Wednesday the 2nd of September. On Wednesday afternoon, the wind goes glassy from the ENE, and we get clean 2ft waves at 10 seconds from the east-northeast. The energy is still weak (60), but the conditions will be perfect for a longboard or a foamie. It’s a calm, clean little session to finish the run.

So, to sum it up: the best bet in this 16-day window is the Saturday afternoon of the 29th of August for a messy but surfable 5ft, or the Sunday morning of the 30th if you’re an expert looking for some size and don’t mind the chop. Other than that, bring a book.

Rusty.

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