Hakalau Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's talk about what's on the menu for the next couple of weeks at Hakalau. It's a river mouth setup, so it's got a bit of character, and it's exposed to the ENE swell, which is handy.

Alright, straight up, the first week and a half is a bit of a write-off. We're looking at a real slow start, with nothing decent on offer until the tail end of the month. The water's sitting at a pretty normal 80°, no surprises there.

From Thursday the 16th all the way through to the 24th, it's all pretty grim. Small, choppy, onshore slop with cross-on winds from the East and Southeast. The swell direction is mostly from the E and ESE, which isn't bad, but the wind just kills it. You'll see a few little bumps around 3 ft to 6 ft, but with periods of 6 to 8 seconds, it's just weak, mushy junk. The combined energy is mostly in the "moderate" range, but it's all wind-affected and messy. It's not worth paddling out for.

Now, things start to get interesting around the 25th of July. That Saturday morning, we see a bit of a pulse with a 6 ft swell from the ENE, and the wind turns light and onshore from the ENE, which is much better. The energy jumps. It's still only a "marginal" call, but it's a step in the right direction.

The real standout, the one you've been waiting for, is the end of the month. We're looking at Monday the 28th of July. The swell kicks up hard with a solid 12 ft from the ENE and NE, with a long period of 13 seconds. That's a proper groundswell with some serious grunt. The combined energy is massive, hitting those high numbers. The wind is light from the NE and ENE, which should keep it pretty clean, especially for a river mouth. Now, 12 ft is expert territory, no question. That's powerful, heavy stuff, and with a long period like that, it'll be a deep-water bomb that reels off. A river mouth can handle that groundswell nicely, but it's not for the faint of heart. The next day, the 29th, holds at 10 ft, still with a long period, but the wind gets a bit more cross-on, so the 28th is the pick of the bunch.

So, the call is: be patient. The first 10 days are a washout. Then the last few days of July and the start of August bring some serious, heavy, expert-only groundswell with clean winds. That 28th is the day to circle on your calendar.

Rusty.

Read more