Kawaihae Breakwater Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Kawaihae Breakwater on the Big Island has in store for us over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: the first week plus is a real struggle. We've got a long, slow start. From Thursday the 20th right through to the end of August, we're looking at tiny, weak surf. The first recommendation doesn't show up until Thursday morning, with a meager 1ft swell from the southwest. The energy is practically nothing, just 87, and it's coming in on a super long 18-second period. That's a groundswell, but for a spot that likes a west direction, the combo here is just too small to do anything with. You’ll see some glassy conditions on Friday morning the 21st, with the wind going dead calm (0 km/h), and the swell bumps up to 1ft, but the energy is still weak at 121. It’s pretty clean, but you're basically bobbing around waiting for a knee-high ripple. Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd offer similar tiny waves with light offshore winds, but it’s all in the 1ft to 2ft range. The water temp is sitting at a lovely 81°, which is about normal for this time of year, so at least the wait is warm.

Then we hit a real dead zone. From Monday the 24th of August all the way through Wednesday the 2nd of September, conditions are poor. The swell drops to 0.7ft, the energy numbers are in the single digits and teens, and the surf quality is just non-existent. It’s a flat spell, plain and simple. There’s a lot of moderate offshore wind in there (NE 9-12 mph), but with no swell to push, it doesn’t matter.

Finally, things start to perk up a bit heading into the second week. On Thursday the 3rd of September, we see a tiny uptick. The swell hits 2ft in the morning and then 2ft in the afternoon, with the energy climbing to 165. It’s not big, but the afternoon goes glassy with a west swell, which is the direction this reef loves. The best day looks like Friday the 4th of September. The morning is dead calm with the wind at 0 mph – absolutely glassy. The swell is 2ft from the west, with a solid 14-second period, and the energy is a moderate 203. It’s the pick of the forecast, but let’s be real, 2ft is still small. Because this is a reef break and the direction finally matches up, those long-period waves should wrap in cleanly. Keep your expectations in check, though; it's more of a longboarder's session than anything with real power. The crowds *sometimes* show up here, so on that Friday you might have some company.

So if you're itching for a paddle, your best bet is that Friday the 4th of September. It’s far out, so treat it as a promising light at the end of a very long tunnel.

- Rusty

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