Hakalau Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a good, hard look at what’s coming our way for this stretch of coast. Gotta be straight with you – the next sixteen days are looking pretty average. There’s no major swell event to get excited about, and a persistent cross-onshore wind is going to mess with the surface on most days. We’ve got some wave energy pushing in, but the conditions just aren’t lining up for a proper clean session.

Let’s break it down. We start off on Friday the 4th of September with some real potential. The swell is coming in at a solid 7 ft from the east, and the period is a long 14 seconds – that’s proper groundswell energy. The combined energy is strong at 1784. The water temp is sitting at a warm 81°, which is about normal for this time of year. The only problem? The morning wind is a cross-on from the east at 9 mph, which is going to chop it up a bit. By afternoon, the wind swings to the northeast at only 3 mph, going nearly straight onshore but light enough that it might clean up. It’s still tagged as marginal, but that Friday afternoon session is the best we’ve got in the whole run, so I’d be looking at it if you’re keen.

Saturday the 5th is similar in size – 8 ft from the east-northeast in the afternoon with a solid 13-second period and strong energy (2031) – but again, the wind is either cross-on or onshore. It’s just not coming together for that clean, glassy wave we dream about.

Now, here’s the bad news. From Sunday the 6th right through to Saturday the 19th of September, the surf quality takes a nosedive. The wind stays stubbornly cross-onshore from the east or southeast, sometimes gusting up to 19 mph, which makes for lumpy, choppy, and downright poor conditions. Swell sizes bounce between 3 ft and 7 ft, with periods dropping into the 7 to 12 second range, but the energy drops off significantly (anything from 334 to 834). The models are pretty much giving these days a zero on the quality scale.

If you’re a kite surfer, all that wind and bounce might look fun, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a long wait. There’s a real dry spell from the morning of the 7th right through to the 16th. We don’t see a sniff of decent conditions until maybe the 17th of September, where light onshore winds from the northeast at 6 mph meet a 6 ft swell from the east-northeast. Even then, it’s only marginal.

So, to sum it up: your one and only real window is Friday the 4th of September afternoon. Head to Hakalau (Hamakua Coast). The swell is solid and has that long-period push, but the wind is the factor. It’s a river break, so the extra-long period (14 seconds) might actually make it a bit straight, but if it cleans up with that light northeasterly, you’ll get some decent ones. The rest of the forecast is a write-off. Keep an eye on things, because forecasts can change, but right now, it’s looking like a long, flat, choppy stretch.

Stay patient,
Rusty.

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