Crouching Lion Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I've gotta be straight with you about the local surf situation on the North Shore. We're looking at a pretty challenging stretch ahead, and you need to manage your expectations.

Right now, the only spot that's even in the conversation is Crouching Lion (Oahu). It's a point break that needs swell from the NE to really work, but they're inconsistent, so you don't want to drive all the way out there without a bit of hope. The water's pretty average temperature-wise for the time of year, nothing to write home about.

The surf kicks off on Wednesday morning, the 29th of July. We're looking at a 7ft swell from the ENE with a moderate cross-onshore breeze. The wave energy is moderate at 733, but the quality is marginal and the wind will wreck it. Later that afternoon, things get interesting. The wind drops to glassy, and the swell is a clean 6ft from the NE. The wave energy drops a bit to 470, but that glassy skin will make it look way better than it is. This is easily the best session of the entire forecast – a real window of opportunity if you can bail out of work.

But don't get too excited. From Thursday morning the 30th, the wind turns on us. It's a solid 12 mph cross-shore, turning to a messy cross-onshore that chops up the 5ft to 5ft swell. The period drops to 8 seconds, so the waves will be weak and crumbly. By Friday the 31st, we're in a frustrating pattern. The swell gets bigger, hitting 6ft Friday morning and 7ft Friday afternoon, but it's accompanied by a stiff 15 to 18 mph cross-onshore wind. The wave energy jumps up to a moderate 559 and then a stronger 721, but with that wind, it's just a lumpy, blown-out mess. This pattern of big, ugly, onshore wind is going to hang around.

Saturday the 1st of August is the worst of it. We've got an 8ft swell from the ENE with a 22 mph cross-onshore wind. The combined energy hits 1055 (strong), but the forecast clearly says "poor surf conditions." At this size and wind speed, the beach break sections would be a washing machine – honestly, this looks more like a kite surfing day than anything for a paddle surfer.

Things slowly mellow through the first week of August, but the wind stays cross-onshore. The swell drops back to around 6ft on Monday the 3rd and stays in the 5ft to 5ft range for a few days. The period does improve to 11 seconds on Tuesday the 4th, which is a longer period groundswell, but that long interval at a point break can actually make the waves wrap in and break a bit too straight. It's still cross-onshore, so it's not clean.

Then we hit a dead zone. From Wednesday the 5th of August all the way through to Wednesday the 12th, the swell is tiny and the wind is just plain bad. Swell heights drop to 3ft. Wave energy is low, under 200. There's literally nothing to surf. It's a dry spell that lasts over a week.

We finally get another bump in swell on Thursday the 13th of August, with a 5ft from the East, but the period is a pathetic 6 seconds – that's pure wind swell, short and weak, and the wind is cross-onshore. Honestly, it's not worth paddling out.

So the bottom line: your one and only shot is Wednesday afternoon the 29th. The glassy 6ft at Crouching Lion will be clean, and if it lines up, you'll get a few fun ones. The rest of the 16 days is a pretty bleak stretch. It's a long wait, and the area tends to have these runs where the trade winds blow everything out. But forecasts change. For now, keep your board waxed and wait for that Wednesday window. Rusty.

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