Kahului Harbor Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. We’ve got a bleak stretch ahead for Kahului Harbor. This place is a reef break, exposed to swell, and the optimum direction is from the NNE. The problem is, the swell we’re seeing is mostly out of the ENE and E, and the wind is a persistent cross-onshore or cross breeze that’s just keeping it messy.

Now, there’s no surf to speak of right now. The whole first week, from Monday the 13th through to Sunday the 19th, is a total write-off. The swell is there, around 4 ft to 5 ft, but the wave comment is consistently "poor surf conditions" and the scores are zero. The wind is either a moderate or gentle breeze that’s cross-onshore, so it’s choppy and ugly. The energy runs from a weak 135 up to 318, which is still on the low side, so you're getting a bumpy, weak sea state. It’s not worth paddling out.

The water temperature is a balmy 79°, and that’s 0.4° above average, so it’s perfectly normal for the time of year.

We then get a bit of a blank for the morning of Monday the 20th, with a "marginal" call, but again the wind is wrong. This pattern of poor conditions stretches all the way to the morning of Thursday the 23rd. The swell heights stay between 4 ft and 5 ft but the wind just won't cooperate.

The first hint of something different doesn't come until the afternoon of Friday the 24th. The swell drops to 2 ft, but it’s coming from the E with a very long period of 16 seconds. That's a groundswell. The combined energy jumps to 539, which is moderate. The issue here is that at a reef break, a very long period swell can set up nicely, but the direction is still off the optimum. It's still "marginal" with a cross-shore breeze.

The real stand-out, if you can call it that, is much further out. On Tuesday the 28th, we start seeing some real energy. The morning has a swell of 6 ft from the E, with a period of 13 seconds. The combined energy is a very strong 1164. That’s serious power. By the afternoon, it bumps up to 6 ft from the ENE, with energy at 1272. The wind is still cross-onshore though, and the comment is still "marginal". For a spot that's consistently poor for two weeks, this is the best we're going to get. The swell direction is off ideal, but the power is undeniable. Because the swell is over 5 ft, it’s not for beginners. For a reef break with that much energy, you better know what you're doing.

In short, we have a solid 13-day gap of nothing good, and the one day that has the most punch on the 28th is still going to be tricky with the wind. For the majority of this window, this setup honestly looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a regular paddle surfer, given the constant cross-onshore wind and choppy conditions.

Rusty.

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