Christchurch Coast · Thursday, Sep 24

Sumner Beach

Updated Wed, Sep 23, 12:30 PM GMT+12

When to go

7:00 AM–9:00 AM

Looks good · Low confidence

0.7–0.7 ft · Offshore waves · not face height

Wind: 2.4 kt · direction unavailable

Forecast details

Light wind should keep the water smoother.

Other wind windows

Plan around the wind

The best available upcoming daylight wind sample to compare with the wave evidence. This compares wind only; wave size, tide suitability, and hazards can change your choice.

7:00 AM–9:00 AM · Pacific/Auckland
Light wind · up to 2.4 kt · reported gusts up to 7.4 kt
Offshore waves: 0.7–0.7 ft across the period. Surf height unavailable. Tide data unavailable.
Wind source time: Sep 23, 11:45 AM GMT+12. This is not the model run issue time.

How these periods are chosen

The planner prefers three consecutive hourly samples covering two daylight hours, but retains shorter one- or two-sample evidence when that is all the forecast provides. Light wind means at most 6 kt. Moderate offshore means at most 12 kt from land toward the sea when shore orientation is verified. Strong wind or known gusts of 20 kt or more remain visible as cautions instead of making the entire comparison disappear. These are comparison labels, not locally tested surf-quality or safety ratings. Missing gusts remain unknown. Terrain shelter, currents, closures, and your ability are not assessed.

Forecast confidence

Returned marine grid point is 9.5 km from the mapped spot. Provider grid resolution is not established for this response.
Reference model hour: 19 hours from now; historical residuals do not measure forecast lead-time error.
No accepted local model for these inputs: missing history, unsupported direction/period/height, or failed historical validation.
Tide unavailable: assessment incomplete, especially at shallow reef breaks.
A mapped coordinate does not establish nearshore grid resolution or terrain/shelter accuracy.

Wind ENE 1.8 kt

Tide Unavailable

Wave, wind and tide details

Offshore model swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4sValid 2026-09-24 08:00 · Pacific/AucklandMarine grid -43.5417, 172.8750 · offshore model, not a local measurement

Offshore model sea0.7 ft @ 7sSignificant wave height including wind waves and swell; not breaking surfValid 2026-09-24 08:00 · Pacific/Auckland

Model windENE 1.8 ktonshoreValid 2026-09-24 08:00 · Pacific/Auckland1.8 kt onshore component

TideUnavailableunavailableNo verified local tide station connected; no tide height estimated

Surf height unavailable. Coastal and offshore waves are not breaking-wave heights.

Surf and wind

Recommended window: No recommended window

Breaking surf is not reliably resolved. Hourly offshore swell and wind inputs are listed below.

Hourly forecast

Hourly surf forecast for Sumner Beach
Time	Wind	Tide	Offshore swell
12 AM	SW 2.2 ktoffshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.6 ft @ 4s
1 AM	SSW 1.4 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.6 ft @ 4s
2 AM	SSW 0.6 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.6 ft @ 4s
3 AM	SSW 0.7 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.6 ft @ 4s
4 AM	SSW 0.4 ktoffshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.6 ft @ 4s
5 AM	SSW 0.2 ktoffshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 4s
6 AM	ESE 0.3 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 4s
7 AM	SE 0.5 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 4s
8 AM	ENE 1.8 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 4s
9 AM	NE 2.4 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 4s
10 AM	NE 3.4 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 4s
11 AM	NE 3.9 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 4s
Noon	NE 4.4 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 4s
1 PM	NE 4.4 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 5s
2 PM	NE 4.8 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 5s
3 PM	ENE 4.9 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 5s
4 PM	ENE 5.8 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 5s
5 PM	ENE 5.4 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 5s
6 PM	E 4.8 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	SE 0.5 ft @ 5s
7 PM	E 4.2 ktonshore	Unavailableunavailable	E 0.5 ft @ 4s
8 PM	ESE 4.8 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 0.7 ft @ 4s
9 PM	SE 3.4 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	NE 0.7 ft @ 3s
10 PM	S 1.9 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	NE 0.7 ft @ 3s
11 PM	S 1.6 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	NE 0.7 ft @ 3s

12 AMUnavailable

WindSW 2.2 ktoffshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.6 ft @ 4s

1 AMUnavailable

WindSSW 1.4 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.6 ft @ 4s

2 AMUnavailable

WindSSW 0.6 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.6 ft @ 4s

3 AMUnavailable

WindSSW 0.7 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.6 ft @ 4s

4 AMUnavailable

WindSSW 0.4 ktoffshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.6 ft @ 4s

5 AMUnavailable

WindSSW 0.2 ktoffshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4s

6 AMUnavailable

WindESE 0.3 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4s

7 AMUnavailable

WindSE 0.5 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4s

8 AMUnavailable

WindENE 1.8 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4s

9 AMUnavailable

WindNE 2.4 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4s

10 AMUnavailable

WindNE 3.4 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4s

11 AMUnavailable

WindNE 3.9 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4s

NoonUnavailable

WindNE 4.4 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 4s

1 PMUnavailable

WindNE 4.4 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 5s

2 PMUnavailable

WindNE 4.8 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 5s

3 PMUnavailable

WindENE 4.9 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 5s

4 PMUnavailable

WindENE 5.8 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 5s

5 PMUnavailable

WindENE 5.4 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 5s

6 PMUnavailable

WindE 4.8 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellSE 0.5 ft @ 5s

7 PMUnavailable

WindE 4.2 ktonshoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellE 0.5 ft @ 4s

8 PMUnavailable

WindESE 4.8 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 0.7 ft @ 4s

9 PMUnavailable

WindSE 3.4 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellNE 0.7 ft @ 3s

10 PMUnavailable

WindS 1.9 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellNE 0.7 ft @ 3s

11 PMUnavailable

WindS 1.6 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellNE 0.7 ft @ 3s

Tide

Local tide station unavailable

Tide predictions are unavailable for this period.

About this spot

Model-grid forecast requested at the mapped coordinate; reef, headland, and nearshore transformations are unresolved. Beach/river bar break. Published named-break coordinate replaces the former region fallback; the source describes ENE swell and southwest offshore wind.

Mapped spot coordinate: -43.56, 172.76.

South Island · Pegasus Bay east-northeast-facing beach and Avon-Heathcote river-bar coast · Ocean-facing bearing 67.5° · Location provenance

Model request point: Sumner Beach (-43.56, 172.76). Model output times describe valid conditions; the provider does not expose the model run issue time in this response.

Forecast sources

Data coverage 2/6 sources

Source availability is not forecast accuracy. Where an empirical model passes historical testing, its error and interval coverage are shown above. Source count cannot increase that confidence.

Coverage tier B · NEW_ZEALAND · spot-level model point

MetService New Zealand Surf Forecasts
The checked MetService public marine/surf response exposes an HTML application shell but no stable named-spot payload, timestamp schema, units, or update contract; no forecast is scraped.UnavailableNo source time
New Zealand Regional Wave Buoy Pages
Environment Canterbury documents its Banks Peninsula buoy identity, units, three-hour transmission cadence, and 76 m depth, but the direct anonymous response available to the product is a 212-byte Incapsula challenge. South Island Waves returned an empty public list and no observations, so no buoy value is connected.UnavailableNo source time
NIWA Tide Forecasting API
NIWA tide requests require an API key; no credential bypass is attempted and no station, datum, timezone, or current value is available.UnavailableNo source time
LINZ Tide Predictions and Sea-Level Data
LINZ is retained as an official tide-table reference, but no spot-specific station, distance, chart datum, timezone, and current response is connected.UnavailableNo source time
Open-Meteo Marine API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 23, 11:45 AM GMT+12
Open-Meteo Weather API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 23, 11:45 AM GMT+12
Surf-Forecast public pages
Spot discovery and break-specific HTML fallbackNot applicableNo source time
Surfline public spot pages
Break-specific comparison, cams, and metadataNot applicableNo source time

How best guesses are made

Best guesses combine usable wave and wind evidence, with qualitative confidence and specific limitations. A missing tide or local surf-height model does not prevent useful guidance. Tide levels use the named station datum; their effect at this break remains uncertain. Wind direction is relative to the mapped beach orientation, without calibrated terrain or shelter effects. The comparison is a heuristic, not a measured quality rating.