Kahului Harbor Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Yo, what's up, this is Rusty. Let's get into it. Lookin' at Kahului Harbor, and I gotta be straight with you—this stretch is a grind. We're talkin' 16 days of mostly poor to marginal conditions right off the bat. There's barely a standout, and when we do finally get a sniff of something clean, it's way out there. That first recommendation doesn't come up until Thursday the 24th of September, so we've got a solid week and a half of onshore chop and cross-shore junk from the ENE and NE to sit through. A lot of that early swell is short-period, messy windswell, with combined swell energy mostly in the low-to-mid hundreds (around 172–273), which tells you it's weak and bumpy. The water's sitting at about 80.4°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Alright, so the only real window that gets me talking is Thursday morning, September 24th. The finder points to something clean for the first and only time. We've got a 5.9ft swell rolling in from the ENE, and the wind flips to an ESE cross-offshore breeze at 9 mph. That's the kind of light offshore that'll clean it right up. The combined swell energy hits 615, so that's moderate energy with some push. That Thursday morning is your one true chance for some decent shape. Kahului Harbor is a reef setup, so with that swell direction and a long enough period (9 seconds), it'll line up alright for the advanced crew. Just keep in mind the crowds here are listed as *sometimes*, so you might have company, but it won't be a zoo. After that morning, it goes straight back to onshore chop for the rest of the day and into the weekend.

The next flicker comes Sunday the 27th, but it's not really a goer. We get a 3.3ft swell from the NNW with a massive 19-second period—that's very long-period groundswell energy, combined energy of 920—but the wind is a light cross-onshore from the NE. That long-period stuff at a harbor reef can work, but with the wrong wind direction, it's gonna be bumpy and hard to read. That afternoon sees a jump to 4.6ft from the NNW with a 18-second period and energy even higher at 1506, but again, cross-onshore wind ruins it. It's a shame, 'cause that's some serious energy.

So, bottom line: if you're patient, Thursday morning the 24th is the only session that truly stands out. Everything else is a write-off. For the rest of the time, that onshore flow and chop just won't let up. That's it from me. Stay salty.

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