Polihale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s talk about Polihale. This is a sandbar set-up that picks up a bit of NW swell when it’s around, but honestly, for the first ten days of this 16-day window, it’s looking pretty grim. You’re looking at a real slow start here.

We kick off from August 1st with absolutely nothing doing. Zero energy. It’s a full seven days of flat, or near-flat conditions with tiny little waves too weak to bother with. The water temp is sitting at 80.1°, which is about average for this time of year – nothing unusual there. You get a few days with a glassy surface on the morning of the 4th and the 5th, and again on the 6th, but there’s just no swell to ride. It’ll be a good week for a paddle, or just floating about, but not for surfing.

Things only start to show a tiny pulse around Sunday, August 9th. Even then, we’re talking small, weak little lines – a mixed up WNW swell of 1.3ft with a long period of 15 seconds. Combined energy is only 71 – that’s weak. The surf is there, but it’s ordinary.

The real change comes later. From Wednesday, August 12th, things start to build. By the afternoon, a W swell at 2.6ft and 15 seconds pushes the combined energy to 283 – that’s moderate, and the report says it’s looking good. The wind is a light E breeze, which gives us clean, cross-off conditions. Not the full offshore we’d dream of, but tidy.

Now, the standout moment is Friday, August 14th morning. This is where it’s at. A 3.6ft W swell, with a period of 16 seconds – that’s a proper long-period groundswell. The combined energy hits 604, which is strong. The wind is a light breeze from the E, so you’ll get clean, workable faces at that big sandbar. That 16-second period means real energy in the water, but remember, on a beach setup like this, a long period like that can sometimes make the waves stand up a bit straight and dump. For this, it should still be okay, and it’s the best on offer in the whole window. It’s still a worthwhile session for an advanced crew. That morning is the one to go for. The crowds can be an issue at Polihale too, so the chance of plenty of company is there.

Into the second week, the swell holds around the 3.6ft mark from the W through the 15th and 16th of August, but the wind picks up to a moderate 12 mph breeze from the E, which is cross-off, and it gets a bit messier. The energy stays up, around 500, but the conditions get more marginal. The morning of the 16th is still rated better than the afternoon, but it’s not the same clean quality as the 14th.

So, to sum it up: the first week and a half is a write-off. The only real window worth paddling out for is that Friday, August 14th morning. Everything else is either flat or just not worth the wax. If the swell goes over 5ft it’ll be too much for beginners, but here it stays under that, so it’s doable for intermediates on the good days.

Stay patient, lads.

Read more