Izquierda Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on the surf for the next couple of weeks. The straight dope on Izquierda (Big Island) is that we’re in for a drought for a while. There’s a long stretch of onshore wind and messy surf ahead. It’s a bummer, but there’s no point sugar-coating it.

Right now, and for the next few days, this break is a dead loss. The swell is puny, the north-east wind is howling, and it’s just choppy and poor. Not worth paddling out for. The wave energy is weak too, sitting down in the 100-200 range (154-195) for most of these sessions. You’re looking at waist-high slop at best.

The first real hint of something is on Saturday, August 29th. The swell bumps up to about 6ft from the north with a 11-second period. That’s a real jump in size and energy (895), but the wind is still cross-onshore from the NNE at 30 km/h, so it’s gonna be lumpy. There’s some grunt to it, but it won’t be clean. Sunday the 30th holds similar size (5-6ft), but the wind stays onshore. It’s the same story all week – the swell stays above 3ft, but that north wind never lets up.

Monday the 31st drops off a touch, and the first week of September is a real grind. We see another pulse on the 2nd, with 5ft of swell and 398 energy on the Wednesday afternoon, but again, it’s all onshore wind. Just frustrating.

But hold on, there’s a late-season gem coming. In the second week, things get real interesting. On Monday, September 7th, check this out – only a 2ft swell but with a *17 second* period! That’s a very long period groundswell, and the energy jumps to 511. The wind is still onshore from the N, but that clean, powerful, ground swell is what a reef like this loves. This is where it gets good.

Then Tuesday the 8th brings the real pulse: 4ft of swell with a 14-second period and a combined energy of 811. This is the standout of the whole run. It’s still north wind, but for a left-hand reef, this is the kind of swell that lines up beautifully. The 9th and 10th keep similar size and period (4ft, 11-13 seconds), with energy in the 365-509 range. This is a proper run of long-period, powerful surf. It’s promising, but it’s more than a week away, so don’t go clearing the calendar just yet. We’ll be watching it.

Also, the water is sitting at 75°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. Not a huge deal, but a thinner wetsuit might be in order.

So, the long and short of it: the next week is shut for surfing. If the kites are your thing, the strong onshore wind and the chop might be right up your alley. But for a proper surf, I’m waiting for that long-period swell around September 8th. That’s the one with the real potential.

Rusty.

Read more