Rivermouth_Wailuku Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

Right off the bat, I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next week and a half is looking pretty grim for the Wailuku Rivermouth (Hawaii). The wind is stuck in a cross-onshore pattern, mostly from the ENE, and it’s chopping up whatever small swell rolls in. There’s a run of days from July 16th right through to July 25th where the surf is just poor. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there.

The energy is weak for most of that stretch, with values sitting in the low hundreds, like 82 for Thursday morning. It’s small, bumpy, and not worth paddling out for. The swell direction is all over the place, mostly ENE to E, and the period is short, around 6 to 8 seconds, so no real power behind it.

We do see a shift around July 26th (Sunday) and into the next week. The swell picks up to 4ft to 6ft from the E, and the period jumps to 15 and 16 seconds – that’s proper long-period groundswell. The energy ramps up too, hitting four-digit values like 1113 and 1232. That’s strong wave energy. But here’s the catch: it’s still cross-onshore wind, and the surf is only rated as marginal, not good. The wind is from the NE, which is a little better, but it’s not a clean offshore. For a reef setup like this, that long-period swell with cross-onshore wind makes for a bumpy, drifty session.

The best chance for anything decent pops up on July 28th (Tuesday) and July 29th (Wednesday). On the 28th, we get 6ft swell from the ENE with a 13-second period, and the wind finally turns onshore and light – 6 mph in the morning, going to 9 mph in the afternoon. That’s the cleanest wind we’ve seen in a while, though it’s still not glassy. The energy is over 1000, so there’s some push. It’s still only a marginal call, but it’s the best of a bad run. The swell direction (ENE) is not quite the optimum NNE for this spot, so it won’t be perfect, but it’ll be functional.

For the rest of the 16 days, it’s a whole lot of nothing. The wind never goes offshore, and the swell is either too small or too chopped up. Honestly, if you’re desperate, the 28th morning is your best bet. Otherwise, leave the board in the car and go for a hike.

Rusty.

Read more