Tainohama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break it down. The next couple of weeks here at Tainohama are a real mixed bag. It’s a reef setup, so it needs the right direction, and this south swell window is lining up. We’ve got a pretty quiet start, but the end of the run is where the magic is shaping up.

We kick things off with some size but messy conditions. Wednesday the 26th has a 7ft south swell (11 seconds), but with a cross-on wind from the SSW at 9 mph, it’s choppy and not worth paddling out for. The combined swell energy is high, at 1044 (moderate energy), but the wind just ruins it. That afternoon it drops to 5ft and gets even windier. Thursday and Friday stay small and onshore – nothing doing.

The first real glimmer comes late Friday afternoon, the 28th. We’ve got a tiny 3ft swell from the SSW (8 seconds), but the wind goes glassy. It’s small, but for a patient surfer on a longboard, it’s clean. That glassy spell hangs into Saturday morning the 29th, still with that same small 3ft swell. It’s not going to light the world on fire, but it’s surfable and clean. The combined energy is weak (135).

Then things go flat and quiet from Saturday afternoon all the way through the end of the first week of September. There’s a brief spike in energy on September 1st with a 3ft, 13-second south swell that builds to 5ft, but the wind is howling onshore (19 mph) and it’s a stormy mess. That trend continues – we get big, dangerous swell on September 2nd and 3rd with waves up to 10ft and very strong combined energy (over 4000), but it’s all onshore, stormy, and closed out. This is not paddle surfing – that’s kite territory if anything.

Now, the standout. Mark your calendar for Monday, September 7th. After all that stormy chaos, it clears right up. We get a solid 13ft swell from the SSE (13 seconds – long period groundswell) with a light offshore wind from the NE at 6 mph. The combined energy is massive at 5794 (very strong). This is a serious, powerful groundswell, and at a reef like Tainohama, it’s going to produce some epic, grinding waves. This is for experts only – way too big for beginners. The crowd factor here is “sometimes,” so get out there early. The water temperature is around 84°, which is about 2° warmer than average for the time of year – a little warmer than usual, but not crazy.

Tuesday the 8th holds the energy with another 13ft SSE swell (12 seconds) and clean offshore wind from the NNW at 9 mph. The combined energy is even higher at 7079. Another incredible day for the experienced crew. Wednesday the 9th still has 10ft SSE swell with glassy conditions in the morning – that’s a dreamy window. The swell slowly drops through the rest of the week, but remains clean and surfable.

So, the bottom line: don’t bother paddling out this week. It’s a washout. But if you can wait, the 7th, 8th, and 9th of September are the absolute cream of the crop. Big, clean, powerful south groundswell at Tainohama. That’s the one.

Rusty.

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