Pipeline Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it for the North Shore.

Alright, so we’re looking at a pretty flat spell for a while. The buoys are quiet – nothing doing for the first couple of weeks. We’ve got a solid gap from now, all the way through until the very start of September, with nothing but tiny, weak, and pretty much unsurfable conditions. Honestly, it’s a bit of a bummer if you’re jonesing for a paddle. The wind is a constant fresh breeze from the east, keeping things clean but it’s cross-off, so it’s not helping the swell either. The combined energy is just a whisper, barely breaking 200 (279) on the best of these days, but with a swell height of only 2 ft, it’s just not worth the wetsuit peel.

Things start to show a tiny pulse of life on Monday the 31st of August. The swell is still tiny at 2 ft from the SSW, but the period stretches out to 15 seconds, giving it a fair bit of grunt for its size. The combined energy jumps to 255. It’s still tagged as marginal, but it’s a step in the right direction. The wind stays a moderate breeze from the ENE, so it’s clean. Still, you’d be scratching for a wave.

Now, the real standout is hiding in the second week. Sunday the 6th of September is the day we’ve been waiting for. The morning session is where it’s at. The swell bumps up to 2 ft from the SSW, but check out the period – 19 seconds! That’s proper groundswell energy. The combined energy rockets up to 332, which is a solid, moderate push of juice. The wind is a gentle breeze from the southwest, going cross-offshore. That’s going to make it super clean. The only buzzkill is a risk of thunderstorms, so keep an eye on the sky. The score is a 2 out of 10, but for this forecast period, that’s the best we’ve got.

Monday the 7th of September builds on that nicely. The swell is 3 ft from the same SSW direction, still with a long 16-second period. The combined energy is even stronger at 431. The wind is a light 9 mph from the east-southeast, still cross-off and clean. This is another solid morning to be out.

Look, for the whole 16-day window, Pipeline doesn’t get a proper swell. The direction is from the SSW, which is not the optimum WNW direction for the reef. The waves are going to be small and gutless for the most part. The first week is a write-off. The only moments with any real energy and a clean window are those two mornings on September 6th and 7th. The longer period on the 6th (19 seconds) is a classic groundswell, which is promising for the reef, but the size is still small. It’s not going to be the Pipeline of legend, but it’ll be the most fun you’ll have in the water in this stretch.

Rusty, signing off.

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