Takegashima Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's on the menu for Takegashima. Right off the bat, this is a reef setup for the advanced crew only, and it's exposed to the east, which is key.

We've got a bit of a slow start to the week. The real action doesn't kick off until later, but the first bit of promise comes on Tuesday morning, September 15th. We're looking at a chest to head high swell from the southeast, around 4 feet, with a period of 9 seconds pushing moderate energy (260). The wind is glassy from the NNE at 3 mph, so the surface will be clean. It's a small window, and the afternoon turns a bit lumpy, so get it early.

The waves drop off through Wednesday and Thursday, with onshore winds and small, weak swells. Basically, a few days of nothing special.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. The weekend of September 19th and 20th sees a big pulse of groundswell. Saturday morning the swell jumps to a solid 12 feet from the east-southeast with a very long 15-second period and a massive energy reading (5441). This is expert territory only. The issue is the strong onshore wind from the NNE at 12 to 15 mph, which is going to make it stormy and messy. It's big, but it's not clean. The wind stays onshore through Sunday, with the swell holding at 13 feet. The energy is massive, but the quality is going to be pretty average.

The standout window, the one you've been waiting for, looks like Tuesday, September 22nd. The finder is calling it an 11 out of 10 situation, but with a huge caveat. We're looking at a monstrous 35 feet swell from the southeast with a 16-second period. The combined energy is off the charts at 50628. The wind is cross-onshore from the east at 15 mph, so it's not perfectly glassy, but the report says conditions are favorable. However, the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. For the absolute top-tier, big-wave chargers, this is probably the one day in the whole window that's truly epic, but for anyone else, it's a "watch from the cliff" day. The wind and tide are apparently working, but the sheer size is only for the most experienced.

After that, the swell drops fast. Wednesday the 23rd gets blown out by a gale from the SSW at 40 mph, making for impossible paddling. Then we have a long stretch of poor conditions with weak swells and onshore wind. There's a slight uptick in size around September 29th and 30th, with 7 to 13 feet swells, but the wind is onshore and the quality is poor, so it's not worth the paddle.

So, to wrap it up: if you are an expert with a big-wave gun, you're looking at Tuesday, September 22nd. It's the standout, but it's a beast. For the rest of us, that Tuesday morning the 15th is the only clean, manageable window before things get too big or too messy.

Go with the flow, and don't get too attached to the long-range stuff. These big swells can be fickle.

Rusty.

Read more