Waihee Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s be straight with you: the whole 16-day window for Waihee is a total write-off. There isn’t a single session that’s worth paddling out for, so I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

Waihee is a reef and point break, and it’s fairly consistent, so when it’s on it’s on. But right now, from August 13rd right through to August 28th, it’s just cross-on wind every single day. From Thursday 13th, it’s a moderate breeze out of the NE at 16 mph, and it only gets worse. By the 15th, we’re looking at 25 mph out of the ENE to E, with thunderstorms, and the swell is hitting 10 feet. That size is too big for beginners, and with that wind, it’s only for experts wanting a punishing session. The swell direction is mostly ENE to E, and the optimum swell for Waihee is from the NNE, so the angle is off all the way through.

Even when the wind eases to 9 mph from the 19th, it’s still cross-on, and the swell drops to around 3 feet with a short period of 7 to 8 seconds. That’s weak, choppy energy (combined energy around 133 to 175). There’s no clean window. The water temperature sits around 80° on the 13th, which is about average for the time of year—no anomaly to speak of.

Late in the period, on August 27th and 28th, the swell period jumps to 16-18 seconds—that’s very long period groundswell, but it’s still coming from the E, not the NNE, and it’s still cross-on. The combined energy jumps up into four-digit figures (1103 to 1505), which is strong, but the wind ruins it. Long period swell like that would be amazing at a point break or reef if the wind was right, but here it’s just messy.

Honestly, with these persistent cross-onshore winds and the swell direction all wrong, this setup looks far more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. There’s just no recommendation to be found. A blank run like this is pretty unusual for Waihee, so don’t lose hope—forecasts can change, and it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty

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