Waihee Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks look pretty tough for paddle surfing around here. We’re looking at a long stretch of onshore and cross-onshore winds that are gonna mess up the wave faces. The best we can hope for is a brief window of cleaner conditions, but it’s a long way off.

Let’s start with the only spot on the menu, Waihee, a reef and point set-up. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing to write home about. For the first ten days, from Tuesday the 21st of July right through to the end of the month, it’s a grim picture. The wind is hammering from the ENE and E at 12 to 19 mph, creating a mean cross-onshore chop that’s making a mess of things. Swell heights bounce between 3 ft and 6 ft, mostly from the east and northeast, but the wind is just ruining it. The wave energy is moderate at best, but it’s all slop. The period is often short, around 7 seconds, so it’s just weak, choppy junk. It’s a write-off for a solid week.

There’s a little shift around Monday the 27th of July. The swell starts to get some serious legs, with period jumping to 14 seconds and then 16 seconds by the 28th. The height builds to 7 ft to 7 ft, and the wave energy gets really strong. The wind finally turns offshore on Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th of July, with light breezes from the NE and NNE. This is the standout window. The problem is, even with offshore wind, it’s still a "marginal" call. The swell is coming from the east and ENE, which isn’t the optimum direction for Waihee – it wants it from the NNE. This means the sets could be a bit straight and not as well-shaped as they could be. Still, a 7 ft swell (over 8 ft is expert-only, so this is still in the solid intermediate zone) with a 13-second period and clean offshore wind is a big improvement over the chop. This is the best shot, but it’s a gamble with the direction.

From Thursday the 30th of July onward, it drops back down. The wind goes cross-onshore again, the swell shrinks to 4 ft or less, and the period drops back to 8-10 seconds. The energy is weak. The last few days into early August are just a repeat of the same poor conditions from the start.

So, the takeaway: if you’re desperate, the morning of Tuesday the 28th of July is the only real chance for a decent session with clean offshore winds and a solid, long-period groundswell. But don’t expect perfection – the direction is off. For the rest of the 16-day run, it’s a pretty bleak outlook for a paddle surfer. If the wind keeps up, this setup might be more interesting for the kite crew.

Stay patient,
Rusty

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