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Shoal Bay

Auckland · Bayswater

also known as Shoal Bay - Bayswater, Little Shoal Bay

Part of Auckland →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

flat waternot for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Jun–Mar

Months riders and schools name

How windy

12-20 knots

Character: mixed

Room to launch

limited

access rules on record, below

Water

flat

20 °C in summerInner-harbour mudflats and channels may differ from nearby open-water temperature readings

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate only

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

31 min

Auckland Airport (AKL)

When it fills in

No thermal clock. The south-westerly that works this bay is frontal, so it can be blowing at dawn or fill in through the afternoon depending on the system. Tide, not the hour, decides when you can ride.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Point Chevalierno page yet
Takapunano page yet
Lake Pupukeno page yet
Island Bayno page yet

The spot

Shoal Bay is a shallow flat-water bay at Bayswater on Auckland's North Shore, inside the Waitemata Harbour.

Conditions and tide

SW is the direction; W works but goes gusty. It is sandbar and standing depth, with no waves and no shorebreak, and at mid to high tide there is a flat speed strip behind the sandbank. The tide runs the session: roughly 3.5 hours either side of high, except that the launch on the spit only appears about 30 minutes either side of high, so dead high leaves you nowhere to rig.

Learning and hazards

Schools do teach here, but learning here on your own is a bad idea. Downwind is mud and mangroves, the deeper channel runs harder than it looks, and a rider who cannot go upwind yet ends up walking out.

Access

The meeting point is Lansdowne Street. It is easy to reach from town by road or on the Bayswater ferry, and it asks more local knowledge than St Heliers once you are on the water.

The wind

locals call it Auckland SW sea breeze/frontal winds

Direction

Direction to shore

Best in SW. W is doable but gusty.

Dominant direction

Kite sizes

45678910111213141516

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

For travel to New Zealand generally, a 12-14 m, a 9-10 m and a 5-6 m cover the range. No Shoal Bay-specific quiver figure was found.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

12-20

Typical strength

12-20 knots is the working band on a south-westerly. The nearest long-run station averages only 10 knots across the year with gusts near 30, which is a regional airport figure rather than a reading from the bay, and it sits well under what you actually ride here.

Flat-water harbour wind, good in Auckland's prevailing SW but with gust risk when too westerly.

Auckland is kiteable year-round and generally windiest in winter and spring; SW conditions are emphasized for Shoal Bay specifically.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month66
Feb, riders' month65
Mar, riders' month60
Apr62
May66
Jun, riders' month73
Jul, riders' month73
Aug, riders' month51
Sep, riders' month72
Oct, riders' month77
Nov, riders' month64
Dec, riders' month54

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

13 ktJan23°
14 ktFeb23°
13 ktMar21°
14 ktApr19°
14 ktMay17°
14 ktJun15°
15 ktJul14°
12 ktAug13°
14 ktSep15°
15 ktOct17°
13 ktNov19°
12 ktDec21°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	66%	13.3 kt	NE	20.4 °C	23.3 °C
Feb	65%	13.6 kt	NNE	20.3 °C	22.6 °C
Mar	60%	12.7 kt	SSW	18.5 °C	21.1 °C
Apr	62%	13.5 kt	SSW	17.4 °C	19 °C
May	66%	14.3 kt	SW	14.9 °C	16.5 °C
Jun	73%	13.9 kt	NW	13.4 °C	14.6 °C
Jul	73%	15 kt	WSW	12.4 °C	13.5 °C
Aug	51%	12.3 kt	SW	11.8 °C	13.1 °C
Sep	72%	14.4 kt	WSW	13.5 °C	15 °C
Oct	77%	14.5 kt	SW	14.7 °C	16.5 °C
Nov	64%	13.2 kt	SW	16.5 °C	18.9 °C
Dec	54%	12.1 kt	SW	19 °C	21.3 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

flat

Standing depth

Large shallow, standing-depth bay with a sandbar; mid to high tide can create a flat speed strip behind the sandbank.

Tides

Ideal roughly 3.5 hours either side of high tide, but not dead high, because the launch is only revealed about 30 minutes either side of high. Other guidance puts the window at a couple of hours either side of both high and low tide, so the two do not agree.

Temperature

20 °C summer · 14 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 13–23 °C

Wetsuit

A thin wetsuit is commonly safer even in warm months; winter and spring sessions generally call for a 3/2 or 4/3 wetsuit.

Currents

The deeper channel carries stronger tidal flow and beginners should stay out of it.

Conditions

Inner-harbour mudflats and channels may differ from nearby open-water temperature readings.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners herenot for advanceds here

Learner suitability is contested here. Lessons do run at Shoal Bay, but the standing advice is to ride it only once you can already go upwind, and the space is constrained. Treated as an intermediate spot rather than a learner venue.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreeridetraining with local supervision

Who it suitsbeginner

A local North Shore flat-water spot used by schools and club riders, with a training feel rather than a beach scene.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: limited

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

7 spots nearby

All 7 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

VHF 16

Rescue — full text1 min read

No lifeguard patrol and no kite-specific rescue on this bay. Patrols cover the open-coast surf beaches, not the inner harbour, and it is unconfirmed whether anything operates here in summer. In practice the cover is the school and the other riders on the spit, so tell someone before you go out.

Emergencies go to 111; on the water VHF 16 is the distress channel, and the regional harbourmaster's office runs maritime safety inside the harbour.

Launch

Regular meeting point is at Lansdowne Street, Bayswater; the only real launch is on the spit.

Rules & access

1 min read

Rules and enforcement

2026: no Shoal Bay-specific kite rule. The regional navigation rules apply and are enforced with infringement notices up to NZ$300.

Kitesurfers must keep clear of anyone in the water and hold at least 50 m off if travelling faster than 5 knots.

Speed restrictions

All craft are held to 5 knots within 50 m of another vessel or of a person in the water, within 200 m of the shore, and near a vessel or structure flying a dive flag, and a 12-knot limit covers the Waitemata between the Harbour Bridge and North Head, which takes in Shoal Bay.

Large ships carry a moving prohibited zone of 100 m each side, 100 m astern and 500 m ahead.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Plan the session around high tide, because low tide leaves too little water to ride.
Do not turn up at dead high: the launch on the spit only works about 30 minutes either side of it.
Ask a school or a local rider for the tide window before you go out, because the published advice does not agree with itself.
Stay upwind of the sandbar while you are still progressing.
Keep out of the deeper channel, where the tidal flow is stronger.
Do not make this your first unsupervised session until the learner-suitability conflict is settled locally.
Hold 50 m off anyone in the water once you are moving faster than 5 knots. The harbourmaster enforces it and the fine runs to NZ$300.
Set the meeting point by street rather than by pin: the launch is off Lansdowne Street in Bayswater, not at Little Shoal Bay over at Northcote Point.

Getting there

Airport

Auckland Airport (AKL)

Route

Shoal Bay is at Bayswater on Auckland's North Shore, about 32 km and about 31 minutes by car from Auckland Airport. Bayswater also has a ferry to the city.

Transfer

31 min

Cost level

high

Staying

Stay in Bayswater, Devonport, Takapuna or Auckland CBD; ferry and road links make the spot practical from central Auckland.

No-wind days

No-wind options include Devonport village, Auckland city, Rangitoto Island ferries, Hauraki Gulf trips, cafes and North Shore beaches.

Photos

FAQ

Is Shoal Bay suitable for beginners?

Sources disagree: Wings & Waves uses it for lessons, but the University of Auckland Kitesurf Club warns not to learn here unless you can already ride upwind.

What is the wind like at Shoal Bay?

SW wind of about 12-20 knots is best; westerly is doable but reported as gusty.

What about tides at Shoal Bay?

The flat-water launch is usable roughly 3.5 hours either side of high tide, but is exposed and unusable around dead high tide.

What are the hazards at Shoal Bay?

A deeper channel has strong tidal current, and riders who cannot hold upwind risk a long walk out of downwind mangroves and mud.

The bigger pictureEverything about Auckland

Last updated: August 2026