Tainohama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break down what’s going on at Tainohama. Most of the 16 days are pretty bleak, but there’s a couple of windows that’ll make you want to wax up. The first real shot is Sunday, 30 August, but it’s a short one.

The early week—Monday, 31 August, through Thursday, 3 September—is flat and ugly. The swell is tiny, mostly under 3 ft, and the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, just ruining any chance of a clean wave. The energy is weak, with combined energy values in the low hundreds (106 to 268). Not worth paddling out.

Friday, 4 September, stays poor, but Saturday, 5 September, shows a little life. The morning sees a building swell of 6 ft from the ESE, with a clean cross-offshore breeze from the north at 12 mph. The combined energy jumps to 543 (moderate), and the break is fairly consistent. However, the swell period is only 8 seconds—short period, local wind swell, so it’ll be a bit weak. It’s surfable, but nothing to write home about.

Sunday, 6 September, through Monday, 7 September, gets messy again. The swell hits 10 ft from the ESE, but the wind is strong cross-onshore, making it choppy and dangerous. The energy is high (1633–1942), but the conditions are poor for paddle surfing. If you’re into kite surfing, this might be fun, but for a surfer, it’s a no-go.

Now, the real standout is the morning of Wednesday, 9 September. The forecast shows 5 ft of ESE swell with a 10-second period, combined energy of 537 (moderate), and—get this—completely glassy conditions. The wind is calm, the water will be smooth as glass. This is the best window of the whole outlook. The swell direction (ESE) is close to the optimum for Tainohama (S), so it’ll wrap into the reef nicely. It’s a reef break, so the long period (10 seconds) will give it shape and power. This is the one to mark on your calendar.

Thursday, 10 September, and Friday, 11 September, see a new swell from the south, but the wind cranks up to 19–31 mph offshore. That’s clean, but the conditions are marginal—strong offshore winds make paddling into the waves a real struggle. The energy is high (932–1820), but the wind is just too strong for a fun session.

The biggest swell of the period arrives Saturday, 12 September, through Monday, 14 September. This is a massive southerly groundswell with a 16-second period, hitting 10 ft to 12 ft. The combined energy is off the charts—over 6,500 (very strong). The morning of Saturday, 12 September, shows exceptional conditions for expert surfers, with a gentle cross-offshore wind. This is for experienced surfers only—over 10 ft and a long period, which means the reef and point will handle it best. The beach break might be too straight and hard to manage. This is a solid, powerful swell, but only for the brave.

In summary, the best windows are Wednesday, 9 September, for clean, glassy fun on a moderate swell, and Saturday, 12 September, for the big, daunting groundswell. The rest of the forecast is mostly a washout. Tainohama is a fairly consistent reef break, but it’s not immune to long flat spells. This is one of those stretches where you’ve got to pick your moments.

Rusty.

Read more