Honokohau Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. Looking at the charts for our stretch of coast, the next couple of weeks are going to be a real test of patience. The ocean’s gonna have plenty of size, but the wind gods aren’t smiling on us for clean, organized surf for a while. We’re looking at a long stretch of lumpy, cross-shore slop before things maybe, just maybe, clean up.

The water temp is sitting at 80°, which is right on the money for this time of year, nothing weird there. That’s the first thing you'll notice when you paddle out.

Right out of the gate, Tuesday the 18th through Thursday the 20th is a write-off. We’ve got 4ft to 4ft of short-period, wind-whipped waves, but the ENE breeze is chopping it all up. It’s cross and cross-on, making it a messy, bumpy mess. Not worth your time.

Friday the 21st is the first glimmer of hope, but it’s a tease. The wind swings to a cross-off, so it will be clean-looking, but the swell is weak, short-period stuff at around 4ft with only 157 units of energy. It’s surfable, but you’ll be scratching for the odd one. The morning will be your best bet before that E wind picks up to a fresh 19 mph in the afternoon.

Then we get slapped back down. Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd see the swell start to build, but that ENE wind cranks up to 22 mph and it’s straight cross-shore with a lumpy cross-chop. It’s gonna be a battle. We’re looking at 6ft to 7ft of junky, power-less swell.

The start of the following week, Monday the 24th, the swell really gets going, reaching 8ft, but the wind stays mean and cross. The energy jumps into the strong range (617 units), but it’s useless for us. It’s just a big, bumpy, messy ocean. That pattern holds through Tuesday and Wednesday with 7ft+ surf and that same dreaded ENE cross-breeze. The energy is strong, but the quality is zero.

Finally, the wind looks like it starts to ease and swing more to the east on Thursday the 27th, giving us a cross-off breeze. But the damage is done, and the wave quality is still poor. This is where we begin to see the real size show up, though.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Over the weekend of the 29th and 30th, we’ve got some serious swell on the way. The energy readings are huge – into the four-digit range, hitting 1301 units on Sunday morning. The swell is up to a solid 10ft. The wind is looking a bit better, being cross-off, and the surf will be clean. But, and it’s a big but, this is powerful, short-period (8 seconds) swell. This is big, heavy, and will be closing out and shifting around. This is expert-only territory at 10ft, and even then, it could be a total walled-up mess. It might be more interesting for the kite crew than for us paddle surfers, to be honest. These days (Aug 29-30) are the only chance for any real standouts, but they're for the brave, not the faint of heart.

After the weekend, we ease down a bit but it’s still big and still messy. The wind goes back to cross on Monday the 31st and Tuesday the 1st, with more rain and storm chances. The swell stays strong, over 8ft, but it’s back to being bumpy and uninviting.

The final days of the forecast, September 2nd, show a slight drop in size to 7ft, but the wind stays onshore and the period stretches out. It’s still not going to be any good.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the long-range picture for the second week just doesn't come together. The surf is either too big and wild, or the wind ruins it. It looks like we’ll be waiting this one out. Keep the board in the car, but be ready to wait for a window that might not come.

Rusty.

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