Hakalau Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, we’ve got a short window of decent waves on Tuesday, September 8th, but honestly, after that, it’s a long, dry stretch. The first real surf is on Tuesday morning at Hakalau. Swell is a clean 5 ft from the NE, with a period of 11 seconds, giving it some good push. The wind is glassy, almost nothing out of the SE at 3 mph, so the surface will be clean. The combined energy is moderate (954), and the water is sitting at a warm 81°, which is right about average for this time of year. Tuesday afternoon is even better – the wind goes completely calm, making it glassy. The swell drops a touch to 5 ft, still from the NE, and the period is a solid 10 seconds. This is the standout. It’s not huge, but it’s clean, and the quality is there for a ripper session.

But that’s the peak. From Wednesday the 9th, the wind turns onshore and chops everything up. We get a solid belt of cross-on winds from the ESE, and the wave heights stay around 3 ft to 4 ft, but the quality is poor. The combined energy drops off fast, and the conditions are just messy. That continues through the whole first week. There’s a brief flicker of a decent swell on Sunday the 13th with 4 ft from the ESE and a 9-second period, but the wind is still onshore, so it’s nothing to get excited about. The second week is more of the same. From the 15th through the 22nd, it’s a grind of small, onshore, choppy conditions. The swell is there, but it’s all blown out. The combined energy is weak to moderate (100 to 400 range), and the wind just won’t give us a break.

The only real flicker of hope in the second week is a long-period pulse late on the 22nd and into the 23rd. A 1 ft swell from the NNW with a 16-second period shows up on Tuesday afternoon, but it’s tiny. The 23rd looks a bit better with a 3 ft swell from the NNW, period of 13 seconds, and a combined energy of 327. The wind is still onshore, though, so it’s a marginal call. For a river mouth like Hakalau, that long-period groundswell could be a bit straight, making it tricky. You’d be hoping for a tide and a miracle.

So, bottom line: Tuesday the 8th is your day. Get in the water early, because the rest of the 16-day window is a washout. The forecast is fairly reliable for the first few days, but the long-range stuff is a long shot. It’s a quiet period, and sometimes that’s just how it goes.

Rusty.

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