Tainohama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Tainohama over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a slow start, but there are some real gems hiding in the second week if you’ve got the patience.

First off, the water’s sitting at a warm 84°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – makes for a nice session without needing a thick suit.

We kick off on Saturday the 8th with a bit of a fizzer. There’s some chest-high swell around 6 ft from the south, with 11-second groundswell and a combined energy of 1392 – so there’s plenty of push there – but the wind is a cross-onshore breeze at 9 mph, making things choppy and confused. The combo of size and bumpy conditions really only suits the advanced crew. The afternoon cleans up a little with the same S swell at 5 ft, but the onshore wind still has it messy.

Sunday the 9th drops off a bit in size, with 4 ft SSW swell in the morning and a longer 12-second period, but it’s still cross-onshore. Not great.

Then we hit a flat spell. From Monday the 12th right through to Friday the 16th, the wave heights drop below 3 ft, and the energy falls right off. It’s mostly poor conditions or tiny, weak surf. A lot of days you’re looking at under 200 combined energy – barely a ripple.

BUT – and this is a big but – Saturday the 15th afternoon things start to turn. We get a 4 ft ESE swell with a glassy wind. That’s clean, fun-sized surf, and the combined energy jumps to 550. This is where it gets interesting.

The real standout, though, comes on Sunday the 16th. Morning has a clean 4 ft ESE swell, 11-second period, with an offshore wind from the NNW at just 3 mph. Combined energy at 524. Then the afternoon glass off – 4 ft ESE, period stretching out to 12 seconds, and that glassy wind. That’s the best window of the whole outlook. Tainohama is a reef break that’s fairly consistent and handles a south swell best, but this ESE direction at moderate size with clean winds is going to be firing. The crowd factor here can be an issue – it’s sometimes packed – but for that Sunday afternoon session, you’ll want to get in early.

After that, Monday the 17th and Tuesday the 18th see the swell fade back to tiny, waist-high or smaller, with combined energy dropping to 128 and below. It’s surfable but nothing to write home about.

A little blip comes on Thursday the 20th afternoon, with a 4 ft SE swell but short 7-second period and onshore wind making it messy – that’s a kite surfer’s day more than a paddler’s.

There’s another flicker of hope on Saturday the 22nd morning: 4 ft S swell, 11-second period, glassy wind, combined energy of 378. Clean and fun, but not as meaty as that Sunday the 16th window.

Bottom line: if you can only pick one day, make it Sunday the 16th of August. That ESE swell with glassy or offshore winds at Tainohama is the standout. The rest of the period is either too small, too onshore, or too weak to get excited about.

Rusty.

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