Waimanalo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's have a look at what's on the table for Waimanalo over the next couple of weeks.

To be straight with you, the entire 16-day window is a bit of a bust. There isn't a single standout session in the whole run. The forecast is dominated by strong, onshore to cross-onshore trade winds mushing up anything that tries to form. You'll see a lot of "poor surf conditions" in the notes, and that's the reality here. The water temp is sitting at 80°F, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The first sniff of anything rideable is on Wednesday, July 29th. Waimanalo is an exposed beach break, and this NE swell is hitting it. Wednesday morning we've got a 7ft swell from the ENE, period around 10 seconds. That's a moderate groundswell, with a combined energy of 733 (moderate wave energy). The problem is the wind is a light cross-onshore from the N at 6 mph, which is that "light cross-onshore with small wind ripples" look. It's not clean, and the rating is a 1/10, so it's really just a marginal, choppy option. The afternoon cleans up a touch with a NE wind switching to onshore, but the swell drops to 6ft and the period shortens to 9 seconds. Not great.

Thursday the 30th through to the end of the first week is a write-off. The wind cranks up from the E and ENE, hitting 19 to 25 mph, turning the surface into a lumpy, choppy mess. Swell sticks around the 5ft to 8ft range, but with periods as short as 7 seconds and those strong winds, it's just blown-out slop. The combined energy climbs to over 1000 (strong wave energy) on August 1st, but with 28 mph cross-onshore winds, it's more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-surfing one. For a beginner spot, anything over 5ft can be tricky, and when it's over 8ft and messy, it's only for the experts who don't mind a beating.

The second week doesn't offer any relief. From August 4th onwards, the trades keep blowing, the swell drops into the 3ft to 6ft range, and the period stays short. There's a brief moment on the morning of Tuesday, August 4th, where the swell period jumps to 11 seconds, giving a bit more energy (524 combined, moderate wave energy), but the wind is still a cross-onshore from the E, and the whole thing is rated marginal at best. The rest of the week is a mix of "poor" and "marginal" with fresh to moderate breezes ruining any chance of a clean face.

So, what's the best on offer? It's a really low bar, but if you're desperate, Wednesday morning, July 29th is your only shot. The swell is 7ft from the ENE at 10 seconds, and the wind is the lightest it will be all week. It's not good, but it's the least bad. After that, you're looking at a solid 13-day gap right through to the end of the forecast on August 13th with nothing worth paddling out for.

This is one of those stretches where the forecast is consistently poor, and it's pretty normal for the area when the trades lock in. It won't stay this way forever, but for now, I'd give the board a rest and wait for a change.

Rusty.

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