Waimea Bay/Pinballs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about the surf on the North Shore.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days are looking pretty flat for Waimea Bay/Pinballs. We’re talking a stretch of consistently poor surf conditions starting now and running through to the end of the month. The swell is tiny, almost non-existent, with heights barely scraping 2 ft. The wind is lockin' in from the ENE, which is a cross-offshore breeze, keeping the surface clean, but there’s just no push in the water. The combined wave energy is weak, barely scratching 111 on the 23rd and dropping fast to single digits by the 29th. It’s a real bummer, a total flat spell for this exposed reef break that needs a solid NW groundswell to come alive.

The best bet in this whole window is a very late call. By the 30th of August, there’s a little blip – the Sunday afternoon sees a spike in combined energy to 171 (moderate) with a 5 ft swell from the NE. That’s something, but the period is short at 7 seconds, so it won’t have the grunt Waimea really needs to shape up. The wind stays cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean, but it’s a short-period windswell, not the deep-water groundswell that makes this place a legend. It’s a major caveat – short period on a reef can be a bit messy and won’t hold the same power.

After that, it’s back to barely a ripple for the first week of September. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no drama there, but the lack of swell is the real story. There’s a tiny glimmer on the 6th and 7th of September with a long-period swell from the W and SW (16 seconds), but the height is only 1.0 ft to 1 ft – energy is still weak (44 to 71). It’s a tease, a promise of clean lines with offshore winds on the 7th, but the size just isn’t there for a paddle. If you’re a kite surfer, the clean cross-off winds on the bigger days (like the 30th) might be more interesting than trying to catch these ankle-biters on a board.

Honestly, there’s no standout session here. The one day with a little more energy (30th) is let down by the short period. The long-period swell in early September is too small. You’re better off waiting for a proper north-west pulse to hit this place.

Rusty

Read more