Waihee Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks.

First up, the water temp at Waihee is sitting at 80°F, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Honestly, I’m looking at this stretch and my heart sinks a little. The whole 16-day period is a bit of a mixed bag, and there’s a lot of cross-onshore wind messing things up. The swell energy is there, sure – we’re looking at moderate to strong combined energy, with values like 722 (weak-moderate) jumping up to 1541 (moderate-strong) and even a peak of 3469 (strong) on Monday the 7th. But the wind is just relentless. For the first several days, it’s a constant cross-on from the ENE, making things choppy and lumpy. The wave comments tell the story: “poor surf conditions” is the headline for most of the first week.

The best chance I can see in this entire window is Tuesday, September 8th. The morning session at Waihee (reef and point) is your best bet. The wind drops right back to a light 3 mph from the ESE, which is a light cross-shore. That’s as close to clean as we’re going to get. The swell is a manageable 6 ft from the ENE, with a period of 11 seconds. That’s a decent groundswell, and at a point break, it should wrap in nicely and offer some shape. The combined energy is 768 (moderate), so there’s enough push. The afternoon stays light with a 6 mph cross-on breeze, but the swell drops to 5 ft. Crowds are possible at Waihee, so get there early.

After that, it’s a grim run. The wind picks right back up, and we’re looking at a long stretch of cross-on conditions and poor surf, right through to the end of the 16 days. There’s a gap of no real recommendations from the 9th of September all the way through to the 19th. The swell stays up over 5 ft at times, even hitting 8 ft, but with the wind on it, it’s just messy. For a reef and point, a long period swell (like the 14-second sets we saw early on) can be fantastic, but not when it’s being chopped up. The later period swells (8-10 seconds) are shorter period and wind-affected, so it’s just not worth paddling out.

If you’re a kiter, this whole period might look interesting with that consistent wind and decent swell, but for a paddle surfer, the only real highlight is that Tuesday the 8th morning. Everything else is a pass.

Rusty.

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