Hakalau Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s talk in feet and miles per hour. This is Rusty, and I’m looking at the Hakalau stretch for the next couple of weeks.

First up, the water temp here is sitting at 82°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. Not a big deal, just a little more tropical feel.

Honestly, the outlook is a bit of a bummer for a while. The first week and a half is pretty much a write-off. From Wednesday the 26th of August all the way through to early September, the surf is just poor. You’ve got a mix of onshore and cross-onshore winds, and while the swell is there, it’s not doing anything good. The waves are small, messy, and the energy is weak to moderate for most of that stretch. The combined energy barely cracks 300 (e.g., 189, 181, 191) and the period is short, around 7 to 8 seconds. It’s not worth paddling out for.

There’s a little blip on Friday the 28th of August morning where the swell period jumps to 15 seconds from the east and the combined energy hits 308, but it’s only 2 feet. That’s a long-period groundswell, but tiny. It’ll be clean with a light breeze, but there’s just no size to work with.

The real story starts to shift on Wednesday the 2nd of September. The swell picks up to 6 feet on the Wednesday morning from the ENE, with a combined energy of 845 – that’s getting into moderate territory. Wind is onshore from the east at 9 mph, so it’s still not clean, but there’s a bit more push. By Thursday the 3rd of September, the swell drops a little but energy is still solid at 417.

The standout, and I mean the only real standout in this whole run, is shaping up for Thursday the 10th of September. Thursday afternoon, we’ve got glassy conditions – wind is almost nothing from the NE at 3 mph, and the swell hits 7 feet from the east with a 13-second period. The combined energy is a whopping 1551, which is strong wave energy. This is a proper groundswell, and with that direction and period, it’s going to be a lot of fun. The break itself is a river mouth, so it can handle that long-period energy well. However, at 7 feet, this is getting into the territory for experienced surfers only – beginners will want to sit this one out. Also, this spot is a river, not an ocean beach, so keep that in mind. Crowds are possible here, as it’s a known spot.

The few days before that, from the 8th and 9th of September, offer marginal conditions. The 9th of September morning has 5 feet from the east with a 12-second period and light offshore winds, but the scores are still low. It’s not the clean, glassy perfection of the 10th.

So, if you’ve got patience, wait for that Thursday the 10th of September afternoon. That’s the one to circle. The rest of the window is largely forgettable, with a lot of poor surf and cross-onshore chop. It’s a long gap of nearly two weeks of average to poor conditions before that one real pulse.

Rusty out.

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