Whangara Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, listen up. It’s Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Whangara, trying to make sense of the next couple of weeks. There’s a bit of a slow start, but don’t go putting the board away just yet, because there are a couple of proper windows hiding in there.

The first few days are pretty so-so. We’ve got some small, clean surf on Sunday morning with a 5ft south swell and decent period, but the energy is only moderate (800). The wind is cross-off, so it should be okay, but nothing to write home about. That carries into Monday morning for a smaller 3ft wave (397), but the real let-down comes in the afternoon when the wind swings onshore and kills it.

Tuesday’s morning surf is marginal, and the afternoon is a write-off. Wednesday morning is worth a look though. It’s glassy, with a 6ft SSE swell showing moderate energy (661), and it should be clean. The afternoon gets chopped up again, and Thursday is ordinary.

Then we hit a proper lull. Friday and Saturday are just messy, with junky wind and lumpy conditions. The swell tries to build, but it’s all over the shop. Sunday the 16th is a complete blowout with strong winds. From Monday the 17th through Thursday the 20th, it’s just all over the place: way too big and blown out. Sizes are pushing 10ft, then 15ft, and the energy readings get strong, (2101), (2295) and even (4550) on Wednesday. My god, it’ll be a washing machine out there. The wind is howling cross and cross-on, so unless you’re after a kite-surfing session, give it a miss.

Now, for the good stuff. The first standout is early on Wednesday morning, the 12th. It’s a glassy dawn patrol with a solid 6ft SSE swell (661). The wind will be dead off the land, so it should be smooth and clean. Whangara is fairly consistent, and with the cross-off breeze, it’s going to be the pick of the first week.

But the real one to circle on the calendar is Sunday morning, the 23rd. It’s over a week out, so treat it as promising but not certain. The charts are showing an 8ft easterly swell with a strong energy reading (1598). It’s glassy, light rain, and the wind is dead off the land. This is a bigger swell, over 8ft, so this is only for the experienced crew. The period is a short 8 seconds, so it might break a bit fat, but with no wind, it has the potential to be the best session of the fortnight. Everything else after that is a bit of a lottery.

One thing to note, the water temp is about average for this time of year, so you won’t need the full thick suit just yet, but a steamer isn’t a bad idea.

So there you have it. A couple of windows of hope in a pretty wild forecast. Get out there when it’s clean, and be smart about the big days.

Rusty.

Read more