Rock Point/Pohakuloa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – the 16-day window for Rock Point/Pohakuloa looks like a tough stretch. This is a reef and point break that can be magic when it lines up, but it's inconsistent at the best of times, and the forecast is serving up a whole lot of nothing for a solid run of days. There's a big gap right at the start with no real surf to get excited about.

From Saturday the 15th right through to about Wednesday the 27th of August, it's pretty much a write-off. We're looking at a lot of days with poor surf conditions. The swell's there, but the wind is the enemy. For example, Saturday morning the 15th, there's a 13 ft swell from the E with a period of 10 seconds, which sounds huge, but it's being absolutely blasted by an ENE wind at 34 mph, making it a near gale cross-shore mess. The combined energy is a massive 3376 (very strong to very strong wave energy), but the wind comment is "poor surf conditions". That pattern holds – Sunday sees cross-on winds, and the whole first week is plagued by cross-shore breezes, often fresh to moderate. The water temp is sitting at 80°, which is pretty average for this time of year with an anomaly of only 0.2°.

Even when the swell drops off, the wind stays messy. Thursday the 20th afternoon offers a brief moment of cleaner conditions with a cross-offshore breeze and a tiny 3 ft E swell (energy of 111), but that's the only bright spot in a sea of lumpy, choppy days. Don't get your hopes up.

Now, into the second week, things start to get a little more interesting, but we're still in "marginal" territory. From Thursday the 27th of August, the swell period climbs right up – we're talking 18, 17, 16 seconds – which is proper long-period groundswell. The energy starts picking up too, hitting 1819 on Thursday afternoon. But the wind remains a problem: a fresh or moderate cross-shore breeze is keeping it lumpy. The swell sizes sit around 5 ft to 5 ft from the E, with the optimum swell direction for this spot being from the NE. So while the energy is building, the direction's a bit off and the wind is cleaning nothing up.

The best chance comes right at the end of the outlook, on Sunday the 30th of August. The morning shows a 8 ft ENE swell with a 13-second period and a combined energy of 1966 (still very strong). The afternoon is similar at 8 ft. The wind is still a moderate cross-shore, but the surf quality is starting to be described as "marginal" rather than "poor". For a spot as inconsistent as this, a 8 ft swell from the ENE on a 13-second period at a point and reef break could offer some sheltered corners. But the cross-shore breeze means it's not going to be glassy perfection. It's the only window that might be worth a look, but I wouldn't be making plans too far ahead.

For an inconsistent spot like Rock Point/Pohakuloa, a long blank run like this isn't that unusual. The forecasts can change, but right now, it's a waiting game. Leave the board in the car and check back later.

Rusty.

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