Waiaha Rivermouth / Honls Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s look at what’s coming up for Honls.

Right off the bat, we’re looking at a pretty quiet run for the next couple of weeks. Nothing’s firing out of the gate – the first few days are mostly small, weak, and messy. The water temp at Honls is sitting at 81°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so it’s a nice balmy bath if you’re just floating around.

Sunday 12 July afternoon’s got a tiny 2ft SSW swell with a 16-second period – that’s a long-period groundswell, but it’s only pushing 328 combined energy, so pretty weak. Winds are light WSW, so it’s clean enough, but the waves are just too marginal to get excited about. Monday 13 July is similar, same small 2ft SW swell, but Monday morning has a bit of cross-on breeze and Monday afternoon gets a stronger S wind at 15 km/h, making it choppy and poor. Tuesday 14 July morning sees a pulse of 2ft W swell with a very long 19-second period and combined energy jumping to 549 – that’s moderate energy, but the swell height is tiny. Winds are light and onshore, so it’s clean but tiny. Not really surfable.

The first real standout comes on Thursday 16 July afternoon. The swell drops a little to 3ft, but it’s now coming from the SSW at 13 seconds, and combined energy climbs to 723 – moderate energy. The wind goes glassy – dead calm – which is a major positive. That’s clean, smooth surf. The waves are small, but for a reef break like Honls, that glassy condition and reasonable energy should give you some fun little lines. Keep in mind, Honls is an advanced reef break, and it’s fairly consistent, but crowds can show up sometimes. This is the best window of the whole forecast.

After that, it’s back to small, marginal conditions. Friday 17 July morning has a 3ft SW swell at 10 seconds – short period – and combined energy of 538, but winds are light onshore. Decent enough for a paddle but nothing special. From Saturday 18 July right through to the end of the month, the swell sits between 1ft and 3ft, mostly from the south or SSW, with periods varying from 12 to 21 seconds. The combined energy stays mostly in the 200–400 range, so weak. Winds are often onshore or cross-onshore, and the surf is consistently described as poor or marginal. Even the 23 July afternoon has a 1ft SSW swell with a massive 21-second period, but the energy is only 307 – it’s a long-period groundswell but just too small and weak to do anything with.

Honestly, outside of that Thursday 16 July afternoon glass-off, there’s not much to write home about. The rest of the 16-day window is a long stretch of tiny, weak, and often choppy conditions. If you’re keen, keep an eye on that Thursday afternoon – it’s your best shot.

Rusty.

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