Honokohau Harbour Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. We’re looking at a bit of a waiting game for Honokohau Harbour over the next 16 days. There isn't much to get excited about right now, but there are a few windows that’ll get the heart rate up.

The first real chance to wet a line comes in on Wednesday the 12th of August. The water’s sitting at a nice 82°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you can leave the steamer at home. Wednesday morning is the standout early in the period. We’ve got a clean 3 ft swell pushing in from the SSW with a solid 13-second period. That long period means proper groundswell, good shape, and long gaps between sets making the paddle out easier. The wind is glassy, dead out of the west at just 3 mph. That’s the kind of morning you don’t sleep in for. Combined wave energy is sitting at 292, so moderate, but with those conditions it’ll feel like more. It’s a reef break, consistent, and fairly exposed to the swell, and the optimum direction here is WNW, so the SSW is a little off-angle but still works.

Thursday the 13th drops off significantly. The morning is a write-off with poor conditions, and the afternoon only offers a tiny 3 ft NNE windswell with a short 6-second period and glassy conditions. It’s surfable, but very ordinary.

Friday the 14th is similar, with a small 3 ft NNE swell and 5-second period in the morning. Glassy again, but that period is too short for any real power. It’s a poor afternoon as the wind swings onshore.

Then we get to the weekend. Saturday the 15th morning is where things get interesting again. We’ve got a 6 ft swell from the NNE, period at 7 seconds, and glassy winds out of the SSW. That’s a decent pulse of moderate energy (303), and clean. Not for beginners at that size, but solid. Saturday afternoon sees a jump to 8 ft from the NNE with clean cross-offshore winds, but the period stays short at 7 seconds. That’s pushing into expert-only territory due to the size, and the combined energy is strong at 661.

From Sunday the 16th onwards, it’s a long dry spell. The wind gets fresh and lumpy, and the surf quality plummets. There’s a significant gap from the 17th right through to the 22nd of August with little to no decent surf. The wind is almost constantly cross-onshore, making for messy, choppy conditions.

There’s a flicker of hope on the morning of Saturday the 22nd of August with a 1 ft SSW groundswell and a very long 19-second period, but the wind is cross-onshore and conditions are only marginal. The energy is moderate at 273, but that period is so long it might be a bit straight for the beachbreak nature of the harbour, better for a reef or point.

The most promising session of the whole outlook is actually very long range. On Monday the 24th of August in the afternoon, we have a 3 ft SSW swell with a 14-second period and the wind going onshore from the WSW. It’s only marginal due to the wind, but the combined wave energy is a very strong 714. It’s one to watch, but it’s over a week away, so take it with a grain of salt.

Tuesday the 25th of August morning gets a bit wild. We’ve got 4 ft SSW swell, 14-second period, but a 12 mph cross-onshore wind makes it a poor session. The energy is huge at 1054, but with that wind it’s more of a kite-surfing show than a paddle session.

After that, the last few days of the forecast window taper off into very small, weak swell with poor conditions.

So, to wrap it up: Wednesday morning the 12th is your best bet early on for that clean, glassy groundswell. Saturday morning the 15th is another solid option for the bigger, cleaner waves. A distant, less certain possibility is Monday the 24th afternoon, but that wind is going to be a factor.

Stay tuned, forecasts can change, and it won’t stay flat forever.

Rusty.

Read more