Kawaihae Breakwater Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Flat spell? You bet. But hang tight, because there’s a pulse showing up later in the window that’s worth keeping an eye on.

Right now, and for the first week or so, Kawaihae Breakwater is pretty much dead. We’re talking ankle-biters, nothing surfer. The swell energy is weak, reading single digits up to the low 50s in that combined energy. There’s a bit of west-northwest groundswell trying to push in, but it’s got no power behind it. The wind is light and mostly offshore or glassy through the start of the week, which is nice, but a clean ankle-snapper is still an ankle-snapper. We’ll see some small west swell around 0.7ft to 1ft, with periods around 11 to 13 seconds. There is a little more energy pushing through around the 10th and 11th, but the waves are still tiny and pretty unremarkable. This stretch is a dead loss for a surf.

Now, things start to get interesting around the 13th. That’s when the swell actually starts to build. We’re still not talking big, but the energy jumps up. On the morning of the 13th, we’ve got 2ft of west swell, but the period is a solid 16 seconds. That’s proper groundswell. The combined energy jumps to 188 – moderate – and it’s glassy with a slight air. That afternoon, it bumps up to 2ft with 16 seconds of period and energy at 339, and the wind is offshore and clean. This is when it starts to feel real.

The standout of this whole run looks like the 15th of August, Saturday. We’ve got 3ft to 3ft of west-northwest swell, with periods still up at 15 to 16 seconds. The combined energy is pushing into the mid-300s to over 400 – that’s the strongest we see in this whole forecast. The wind is light, offshore in the morning, and just cross-off in the afternoon. It won’t be huge, but it’ll have some push and shape to it on this reef. This is the one to circle.

The morning of the 16th, Sunday, also has some merit – 3ft of west-northwest swell with 14 seconds, energy at 273, and glassy conditions. It’s a good follow-up but not quite as strong as the day before.

After that, things start to taper back down. The 17th and 18th drop back to around 2ft with the period easing to 14 and then 13 seconds, and the energy settles back into the low 200s. Still surfable, but the magic is gone.

So the call is: a whole heap of nothing for the first week, then a genuine, if modest, pulse of long-period west-northwest groundswell arrives mid-month. The best bet is the 15th, with the 13th afternoon and 16th morning as solid backups. It won’t be a classic, but it’ll be the best we’ve got. Water temp is 81° – that’s about normal for this time of year, so just boardies and a thin top.

This is Rusty, signing off. See you in the water when it shows.

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