Polihale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what's coming our way.

First thing's first: Polihale is a sandbar setup that's fairly consistent and exposed to the NW, with the optimum direction being from the NW. The water temp is sitting at 79° which is pretty much dead average for this time of year, so nothing to write home about on that front.

The good news is there's a run of surfable days starting this Sunday, 12 July, and running through to the following Friday. It kicks off Sunday morning with some chest-high swell from the NE at 6ft, period of 8 seconds, and a moderate combined energy of 382. The wind is a gentle cross-offshore breeze at 9 mph, which will keep things fairly clean. This is the biggest swell of the whole window, but the period is short, so it'll be a bit lumpy and less powerful than you'd hope. Not a standout, but a solid start.

The real standout of the window is Tuesday, 14 July. The morning session sees a more manageable 3ft swell from the W, with a long period of 16 seconds and a strong combined energy of 512. That's groundswell, folks. The wind is light and cross-off at 6 mph, meaning clean conditions. This is the best combination of size, quality, and wind in the entire forecast. The long period will make for some real nice, lined-up waves at this sandbar, with decent gaps between sets. A true highlight.

Wednesday, 15 July holds similar promise, with 3ft from the W and a 15-second period, energy around 371-440, and light cross-off winds. Another excellent morning and afternoon session. Thursday, 16 July, sees things drop a touch to 3ft from the W, period 14 seconds, still clean and with good energy (268). By Friday, 17 July, the swell fades a bit to 2-2ft, but Friday afternoon goes glassy with a 3 mph breeze – that'll be a fun, small-wave session.

Now, after that, we hit a major gap. From Saturday, 18 July, all the way through to Thursday, 24 July, it's basically flat or junk. The swell drops to tiny 1-1ft, or zero, and the wave comments are all "poor surf conditions." The energy values are mostly in the double digits or zero. It's a real dry spell, about a week of nothing worth paddling out for.

Then, on Friday, 24 July, a new pulse of short-period swell shows up. The morning has 4ft from the NE at a weak 6 seconds, but the wind is cross-shore, creating chop. By the afternoon, it's 4ft from the NE, but the period is still 6 seconds, and the wind is a gentle cross-shore, making for messy conditions. The combined energy is 213, but the ride won't be great. Saturday, 25 July, through Sunday, 26 July, drops to 3ft from the NE, period still 6 seconds, with cross-off winds. The wave comments say "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions," which is a fair call. The energy is low, in the 70-80 range.

Finally, on Monday, 27 July, we get a repeat of the first day: 6ft from the NE with an 8-second period, clean cross-off winds, and energy of 382. It's a similar setup to the start of the window, but the period is still short and the wind is cross-off, not offshore. Not a bad way to close out the period, but it's not the quality of that Tuesday session.

So, there's your picture. The best bet by far is the Tuesday 14 July morning session, with that long-period groundswell and clean conditions. Wednesday is also a ripper. The rest of the window is a mix of average short-period swells and a long flat spell. Get on it while you can.

Rusty.

Read more