Waihee Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about the surf for the coming weeks. We’re looking at Waihee, a reef and point set-up that’s fairly consistent and exposed to the swell. The water temps are sitting at 80°F, which is about average for this time of year, so no wetsuit worries.

The unfortunate truth is, we’ve got a long, dry spell ahead. The first real chance of a surf that is worth paddling out for doesn’t show up until Tuesday, September 8th. Before that, it’s all fresh cross-onshore winds and messy conditions – Sunday the 6th and Monday the 7th are write-offs with lumpy, poor surf and strong energy (1307 to 1344 units of combined swell energy), so don’t even bother.

The standout window comes Tuesday afternoon, September 8th. We get a brief moment of glory: glassy conditions with the wind dropping to almost nothing (3 mph from the ESE). The swell is 5 ft from the ENE with a period of 10 seconds, producing moderate energy (667 units). That’s a clean, fun-sized wave for intermediates. It won’t be big, but it’ll be smooth. It tends to get crowded here at Waihee sometimes, so you might have company for those afternoon waves.

Wednesday the 9th through to Tuesday the 15th of September is mostly a bust. The wind stays onshore or cross-onshore, the swell drops below 4 ft, and energy levels fall away to weak-to-moderate (93 to 482 units). The surf is poor or marginal at best. On Saturday morning, September 12th, there’s a light cross-onshore breeze with 3 ft of swell, but it’s just too weak and messy to get excited about.

The second week doesn’t offer any redemption. From Wednesday the 16th to Monday the 21st, the swell stays weak, mostly under 4 ft, with persistent cross-onshore winds and energy sitting below 320 units. There are a couple of interesting moments late in the run: on Sunday morning, September 20th, and Monday morning, September 21st, the wind goes light, but the swell is still small and short-period.

On Monday afternoon, September 21st, we get a real teaser: glassy conditions again with a 4 ft swell from the east (8-second period) and 276 units of energy. The forecast says "good surf conditions," but keep in mind this is a long way out, so don’t lock it in. It’s a maybe, at best.

The only day that truly stands out is Tuesday afternoon, September 8th – that’s your best bet for clean, glassy waves in the 5 ft range. Everything else is either blown out or too small to bother with. If you’re a beginner, the bigger stuff over 5 ft is pushing it a bit, but that Tuesday afternoon is the sweet spot for a solid intermediate session.

Rusty.

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