Old Man's Hat Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Gisborne and Mahia, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Old Man's Hat Surf Guide

Old Man's Hat in Gisborne and Mahia is a fairly exposed reef break that has unreliable waves with no particular seasonal pattern. The best wind direction is from the southwest and there is no shelter here from cross shore breezes. Waves can be ok even in light onshore winds Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the best swell direction is from the east. There is no reef break. Best around mid tide. Rarely crowded here. Watch out for rocks.

Old Man's Hat Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	2	inconsistent	15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Old Man's Hat:

The best conditions reported for surf at Old Man's Hat occur when a East swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Old Man's Hat (for consistent clean waves)?

mayBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Old Man's Hat with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of May. Clean surfable waves are typically found 16% of the time in May while 22% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 62% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

16%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

22%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

62%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Old Man's Hat Location Map

Interactive Old Man's Hat surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Old Man's Hat is Gisborne Airport (GIS) in New Zealand, 47 km (29 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Old Man's Hat is Whakatane Airport (WHK), also in New Zealand, 156 km (97 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Old Man's Hat Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 11:17 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	9AM	12PM	3PM	6PM
Wave (m)	E	E	E	NE
Period (s)	9	9	10	5
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross- on	on	cross- on

What does Old Man's Hat look like?

Latest photos from Old Man's Hat. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Old Man's Hat

Current tide and informaton

For Aurora Point, 4 km from Old Man's Hat.

Next High Water: 09:23pm | 1.43m

Next Low Water: 03:12pm | 0.27m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Old Man's Hat Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.8 °C) at Old Man's Hat is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (19.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite