Laniakea Reef and Holtons Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. I’ve had a good look at the charts for Laniakea Reef and Holtons, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough outlook. We’re looking at a long stretch of tiny, weak surf and persistent cross-offshore winds that just won’t let up. The water temp is sitting at 80°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Right now and on through the rest of August, we’ve got small waves in the 1ft to 2ft range coming from the WNW and NW. The energy is flat – some of those morning readings are showing combined energy as low as 13 (very weak). Even the afternoons on the 22nd and 23rd push up to a combined energy of 111 (moderate), but the wave height is still a paltry 2ft to 2ft. The wind is a solid 16-19 mph from the E to ENE, keeping it cross-offshore. It’s clean, sure, but there’s just no power to work with.

There’s a shift in late August, around the 30th and 31st. The swell bumps up to 5ft from the NE, and the combined energy rockets up to 237 on the 30th (moderate energy) and 260 on the 31st (moderate energy). But look at that period – just 7 seconds. That’s short-period windswell, which is gonna be fat, crumbly, and not well-shaped for the reef. Winds are still a stiff 16-19 mph cross-offshore. It’s gonna look messy, not really a stand-out. Actually, on the 31st afternoon, there’s a weird spike: a 0.7ft pulse from the N with a 15-second period. That’s a very long period groundswell, but it’s a dud in terms of size.

The best chance we get in this whole 16-day window arrives on the 2nd and 3rd of September. On Wednesday the 2nd, the morning is cross-on with a 5ft NE swell at 8 seconds (combined energy 329 – strong). It’s not great. But then Wednesday afternoon, the wind drops to just 3 mph from the NNE and goes glassy. That’s the golden window. That 5ft NE swell will be clean and lined up. Thursday the 3rd morning continues that glassy trend on a 4ft NE swell (combined energy 255). This is the only real standout, but the swell is a bit short-period (8 seconds) so don’t expect it to be epic, just the best of a poor lot.

After that, it drops right back off into tiny surf and getting cold again. We’re looking at a near-total blank from the 4th of September through the end of the forecast, with waves rarely cracking 2ft. Overall, the consistent nature of Laniakea means this dry spell is unusual, and I’d expect the forecasts to change eventually. But for now, keep your expectations low.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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