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Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Sep · 60% rideable

Tauranga Harbour

What it's actually like

Tauranga Harbour is a tidal harbour in the Bay of Plenty. The local club, Tauranga Windsports, keeps its boat shed at Kulim Park in Otūmoetai and publishes a launch-by-launch guide to the harbour, with the best tide, the best wind, the level and the risks for each. Tide sets almost everything here: each launch works best in its own window, and the club’s guide is the place to start.

September to January are the windiest months in the record, and September is the pick, at about six days in ten clearing 12 knots for three daylight hours. Every month sits between about four and six in ten, and March is the quietest. From September to January the mean over those rideable hours is 15 to 16 knots. The wind builds through the day: in October under a fifth of days are windy at 8am and about half from 3pm. The record is a coarse 9 km model with no station check, so treat these figures as a guide. On a spring afternoon the harbour can be properly lit.

Speed Creek gets very shallow in places, so do slow test runs first, give way to boats going 5 knots and keep to the sides of the channel.

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Your month

When it's good

12 kt+ for 3+ daylight hours · kite

September · 60%. 18 rideable days in 30, 5.4 hours a day over 12 kt. Come.

Where else it blows in September

Not yet checked against a weather station or an independent model, so treat these figures as a guide.

At a glance

Is it for you?

Skill levelGetting there
WaterBit of chop
Wind · SepUsually turns up
Crowds · SepBusy patches
Local vibeWelcoming
Water qualityUsually clean
NightlifeLively
CostMid

Geek analysis

September in the record

60% of days clear 12 kt for three daylight hours or more.

In September the wind most often sits at 8 to 11 kt (30% of daylight hours) and is over 12 kt from 1pm to 4pm on at least half the days. See both charts in the full report

No weather station near enough to check these figures against.

September on the record

The month's own figures, not the year's average.

Rideable days18 of 30Ten Septembers in the record
Wind, rideable hours16 ktMean over daylight hours at 12 kt+
Air16.2°CMaximum

Take it with you

The full Tauranga Harbour report

Seven sections over six pages, built from the same record as this page. A PDF you can read on the plane.

01Hour-by-hour & month-by-month wind02The month's own records03The club, kite school & kit04Per-launch tide windows05Channels, shallows & shipping06Getting there, packing & best months07Sources, and their limits

When it gets busy

Crowds

The club’s annual Tauranga Harbour Jam, a weekend of windsurf, foil and wing racing, runs at Kulim Park on 31 October and 1 November 2026. WindChaser has no crowd count for the harbour yet.

On the water

What September usually does

Wind directionBy launchKulim Park is best in a north-westerly to north-easterly; Fergusson Park and Pilot Bay in south-west to north-west; Speed Creek in a west-south-westerly.
Wind strength15 to 16 ktThe mean over rideable daylight hours, September to January, in a coarse 9 km record.
When it blowsAfternoonsThe share of windy days builds from under a fifth at 8am to about half from 3pm in October.

Your playground

Launches & safety

Conditions change. Check local rules and conditions before you ride.

  • Launch
  • Hazard
  • Parking
  • School
  • Stay
  • Webcam
  • Approximate

Local intel

Getting there & on the ground

Nearest airportTauranga (TRG)About 9 km by road to Kulim Park, under 20 minutes.
On the groundSeptember to JanuaryThe windiest months in a coarse record. September is the pick.
Getting aroundBy carEach launch has its own parking, and the club’s guide says where to park at each.

Stay, schools & kit

Who works this beach

© Tauranga Windsports Inc - TWI ClubTauranga WindsportsClubGoogle MapsWindsurf · FoilFree learn-to-windsurf days from September to April, and windsurf foil coaching, from the Kulim Park boat shed.Website
© Assault Boardriding CentreAssault Boardriding CentreSchool$$$MidGoogle MapsKite · WingA mobile kite school, teaching since 2003, that often works from Fergusson Park, plus wing foil lessons. Kite instruction NZ$80 an hour, or NZ$100 to NZ$160 an hour with kit. Shop in Mount Maunganui.Website
Something wrong?We check before it changes.Suggest a change

Sources

Wind dataOpen-Meteo · ECMWF IFS HRES 9 km · 2017 to 2026Weather data by Open-Meteo.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0. The figures on this page are statistics we counted from that data. Model data: European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), CC BY 4.0. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026 (ERA5). Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.
Map data© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
PhotosHero, Tauranga Harbour at Otūmoetai BeachSgroey · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0School, Tauranga WindsportsTauranga Windsports Inc - TWI Club · Google Maps · Google Maps Platform termsSchool, Assault Boardriding CentreAssault Boardriding Centre · Google Maps · Google Maps Platform terms