Makapu'u Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – this is a tough one for the Oahu side of things. The whole 16-day window is basically a write-off for any kind of decent surf session at Makapu'u.

It’s a real bummer, because the place is an exposed reef break that can handle some serious juice, but the wind and swell just aren’t lining up for us. Right from Monday the 3rd of August, we’ve got a strong onshore wind – 16 mph kicking up to 19 mph – absolutely ruining any chance of clean waves. The swell direction is coming from the ENE, which is exactly *on* the wind, so you’re looking at choppy, bumpy, poor surf conditions. The water’s sitting at a pretty normal 80° for this time of year, so no shock there, but the quality is just shot.

This grim pattern just locks in day after day. A bit of a drop in wind speed on Tuesday the 4th (9-12 mph), but we’re still dealing with an onshore flow and poor conditions. The swell period nudges up to 11 seconds, which would usually be a treat, but with the wrong wind, it’s wasted. The combined wave energy is sitting at 673, which is moderate, but again, it’s all messy.

Wednesday through Friday don't get any better; that wind sticks around from the ENE, blowing fresh to strong at times. The swell dips, the energy drops down to the low 200s, and we even see a little 1 ft spike from the SSW on Thursday the 6th with a 14-second period, but it’s so small and the wind is still on it, it’s a no-go.

Even when the swell gets a bit of size over the weekend and into the next week – hitting 6 ft to 7 ft by the 16th and 17th – the wind just won't let up. We’re talking 22 mph to even 28 mph onshore winds. For any surfer, that’s just white-knuckle stuff on a reef. That 7 ft swell on Monday the 17th of August is big enough to be getting into expert-only territory, but with that wind, it’s not even a discussion.

The only real point of interest is around the 12th of August, when a long-period SW groundswell rolls in. It shows up with 18-second periods and a combined energy of 1241 in the afternoon, which is strong energy. But again, the wind is howling from the ENE at 22 mph. That’s a classic case of long-period swell and onshore wind – it’ll be a washing machine. The break is already optimized for an ESE swell, so that southerly angle isn’t ideal to begin with. For a reef that can handle it, the setup just looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, honestly. That wind would make for some solid downwinders, but for a surfboard? Forget it.

So, there it is. No standout days. Not a single window of clean conditions. For this area, a blank run like this isn't totally abnormal when those trade winds lock in. Forecasts can change, but right now, I’d save the energy and wait for a better window.

Rusty.

Read more