Waihee Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—this is a tough one. Looking at the whole 16-day window for Waihee, there’s not a single moment where the waves are worth paddling out for. The forecast has every session marked as “poor surf conditions,” and the swell is all cross-on, onshore, or just plain messy. There’s a real gap of good surf from the start right through to the end of the period. I’m talking about a blank run that stretches from now until the 24th of September. That’s the whole run. Not a single standout.

The first recommendation—and really the only break on offer—is Waihee, a reef and point setup. It’s fairly consistent here, but that doesn’t mean much when the conditions are this average. The water temp is sitting at 80°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, with the anomaly only -0.4°.

Let’s walk through the period. Starting Wednesday morning the 9th of September, we’ve got some clouds and a 9 mph cross-on easterly wind. Swell is 4 ft from the ENE with a short period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is moderate (548), but it’s all chop and no shape. That theme holds through Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday the 10th: 5 ft swell, ENE, 12 mph cross-on, and the energy drops to 337. No good. Friday the 11th is the same story—4 ft, ENE, short period, and the energy is down to 216. The period bumps to 11 seconds on Friday afternoon, but it’s still cross-on and messy.

Saturday the 12th sees the swell drop to 2 ft-3 ft, with a period of 9-10 seconds. The energy is weak (168-171). Still cross-on, still poor. Sunday the 13th is similar—3 ft-3 ft, ENE, 9 mph, and the energy is 141-233. It’s not looking up. Monday the 14th has 3 ft-4 ft swell from the NE, period 8 seconds, and the energy is 143-175. Cross-on again.

Tuesday the 15th is a tease—the wind drops to 3 mph and goes onshore, but the swell is tiny at 3 ft from the NE, period 7 seconds, and the energy is only 105-134. The “unknown” wind state tells me it’s super light, but it’s still not clean. Wednesday the 16th brings back 9-12 mph cross-on winds, 4 ft swell from the E, and the energy jumps to 432. Still poor.

Thursday the 17th has the biggest swell of the run—5 ft-5 ft from the ENE, period 8 seconds, and the energy is 280-325. But with 12 mph cross-onshore winds, it’s choppy and lumpy. Not for beginners either, as 5 ft is on the edge. By Friday the 18th, the wind picks up to 16 mph, and the swell holds at 5 ft from the E, with energy at 330. It’s messy and blown out. Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th are the same—5 ft-4 ft, ENE, 12-16 mph cross-on, and the energy is between 307 and 220. No good.

By Monday the 21st, the wind is up to 19 mph from the E, with 4 ft swell and energy at 213. It’s fresh and lumpy—kite surfing territory, not paddle. Tuesday the 22nd has a slightly longer period of 9 seconds, but with 16 mph cross-on and 4 ft swell, the energy is 419, but it’s still poor. The final days—Wednesday the 23rd and Thursday the 24th—see the swell drop to 2 ft-2 ft, with energy as low as 77. The wind stays cross-on at 12-16 mph.

To be honest, with this much wind and chop, and the break being a reef and point, it’s just not worth it. The ENE wind is cross-on the whole time, and the swell direction doesn’t match the optimum NNE. There’s nothing to get excited about here. The only faint hope is that it’s a fairly consistent spot, so forecasts can change, but right now, this is a long dry spell. Stay patient.

Rusty.

Read more