Pohoiki Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I gotta be straight with you – the next sixteen days at Pohoiki are a tough watch. We’ve got swell, sure, but it’s almost always coming in from the wrong direction for this spot. The optimum swell direction is from the east, and we keep seeing it slide around from the ENE and NE, plus the wind is constantly messing things up. If you’re determined to get wet, there are only a couple of windows that look even *remotely* okay, and they’re still a compromise. The rest of the time? It’s either choppy or just flat-out poor.

Starting off, Saturday the 1st of August and into Sunday the 2nd, the swell is around 7 ft to 8 ft from the ENE with a short, weak period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is moderate, reading 976 on Saturday morning, but that doesn’t mean good waves. The wind is a moderate cross-onshore breeze, 12 to 16 mph, and that’s just going to make a mess of things. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing wild.

Monday the 3rd is a little less raw, with the swell dropping to 5 ft to 5 ft, still from the ENE. The wind eases to a light cross-shore, which is better, but the quality is still only marginal. You’d be looking at small, weak lines. Then it’s back into a long, dry stretch. From Tuesday the 4th all the way through to Tuesday the 11th of August, it’s a real struggle. The forecast is relentless – poor surf conditions, cross-onshore or cross winds, and the swell energy stays low (mostly between 151 and 406). There’s a brief spike in energy on Sunday the 9th afternoon when a long-period 18-second groundswell from the south arrives, reading 516, but the wind is a messy moderate cross-onshore. That’s a “window” for experts only, but even then, it’ll be tough.

The first glimmer of something better comes on Thursday the 13th of August. The morning shows a 6 ft swell from the ENE, period still short at 8 seconds, but the wind is a gentle cross-shore. It’s still marginal, with a combined energy of 615, but it’s the cleanest we’ve seen in nearly two weeks. That morning session is your best bet, and it’s not saying much.

After that, it fades back into poor conditions. Saturday the 15th of August sees a spike in swell to 5 ft from the east with moderate energy (811), but again, the wind is cross-onshore and choppy. It’s just not coming together. For the whole stretch, the swell direction is rarely hitting that optimal E sweet spot, and the wind is almost never offshore or glassy. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing most days.

So, if you’re picking a standout, it’s that Thursday the 13th of August morning. It’s the only time the wind isn’t actively ruining it. For everyone else, you’re better off finding something else to do for a while.

Rusty.

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