Hookipa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, I'm Rusty. Let's get into it.

Alright, it's a bit of a rough stretch ahead for the Hookipa area – a real waiting game. We're looking at a solid block of nothing happening for the first ten days, until things start to look a bit more interesting later on. The water's sitting at about 79°, which is just about normal for the time of year, so no worries there.

Right now, from Wednesday the 8th of July, it's just wind-affected, messy cross-shore slop. Swell is around 6 ft from the ENE but with a short, weak period of 8 seconds and a moderate energy reading of 373. That's not going to clean up. This continues day after day – the same story: 5 ft to 7 ft of short-period ENE swell, always with that 16 mph cross wind. It's a total write-off for a paddle surfer. Honestly, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing through this whole period.

Come Saturday the 18th of July, we get a bit more size. The swell jumps to 10 ft from the ENE with a period of 9 seconds. The energy is cranking at 1349, which is strong. But the wind is still cross – 16 mph on the morning, then ramping to 19 mph in the afternoon. That's a fresh breeze with a lumpy cross-chop. The forecast is marginal at best, and with size like that and ripping wind, it's really only for the hardcore, experienced crew. It's too big for beginners.

Now, the real standout is staring us down for the end of the outlook. On Tuesday the 21st of July, the character of the swell changes completely. We get a very long-period groundswell from the E. The morning is a touch small at 3 ft, but the period is a massive 18 seconds, with energy at 806. The afternoon is where it gets interesting: 4 ft, still a very long 16-second period, and the energy jumps to 1040. The wind stays cross from the ENE at 12 mph, which is a problem. This is a long-period groundswell; it's prone to breaking too straight at beach breaks. At a reef like Hookipa, it could be magic, but that cross wind is the killer. It's promising, but less certain this far out. The following days on the 22nd and 23rd of July see the swell drop back down, with the period shortening, and the energy fading.

So, the pick of the window is the afternoon of the 21st of July. The swell is right on the optimum direction from the E, and the period is phenomenal. But the wind is the only thing holding it back from being a full-on classic. It's a "watch and hope" kind of situation.

That's the story from here.

Rusty.

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