Halawa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a long hard look at what Halawa has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – it's a tough stretch. We're looking at a solid 12 days of pretty average to poor conditions before anything remotely interesting starts to pop up. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing to write home about.

Right now, starting Thursday the 16th of July, it’s a write-off. We've got a weak little 2ft swell from the west with a long 14-second period, but that doesn't matter when a fresh 19 mph easterly breeze is ruining it. The wave energy is weak (284), and the combo is just lumpy cross-chop. Not worth paddling out for. Friday offers a touch more size at 4ft, but it's a short-period windswell from the ENE with a period of just 6-7 seconds, and still that rubbish cross-shore wind. The whole weekend is more of the same – small, messy, and blown out. On Sunday the 19th, the afternoon bumps up to 5ft, but it's still short-period and cross-shore. The combined energy (321) is moderate, but it doesn't matter with that wind.

We drag through the next week into the 22nd, with the same story: ENE windswell around 4ft, cross-shore winds, and moderate wave energy. It's not until the 25th that we start to see some size, with swell heights consistently at 6ft to 6ft from the ENE, but the wind remains a fresh cross-shore or cross-onshore mess. The energy jumps up (326), but the quality is still poor. For the 26th, we get some sizey 7ft swell, but the winds turn cross-onshore, chopping it up. At that size, it's getting a bit too much for beginners, but the conditions are so poor it doesn't matter who you are.

Now, towards the end of the period, there's a glimmer. On Tuesday the 28th of July, we finally see a change. The morning brings a 5ft swell from the ENE, but the key is a very long 13-second period. This is proper groundswell energy. The combined energy is a massive 1047, which is strong to very strong. The problem? It's still cross-shore wind, which will keep the surface bumpy. It's the best on offer, but we're calling it marginal with questionable tide conditions. This one is better suited for a point break or reef setup than a beach break. For Halawa, a reef/river break, that long period groundswell could actually set up well with a bit of direction, but the cross-shore wind is the killer.

By Wednesday the 29th, the swell holds at 7ft from the NE with an 11-second period and strong energy (898), but again, that cross-shore wind is just a constant frustration. After that, it fades back to small stuff.

So, the standout, if you can call it that, is the morning of Tuesday the 28th of July. It's the only window where the swell has real grunt and a proper groundswell period, but don't expect perfection. For the rest of the period, honestly, with the persistent cross-shore winds and lumpy conditions, this beach setup might be more interesting for the kite surfers than for us paddle surfers.

Rusty.

Read more