Waimea Rivermouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks for Waimea Rivermouth.

The start of this stretch is a bit of a slow burner. We’ve got a couple of days of small, weak surf that’s more about getting wet than getting waves. The energy is really low, and you’ll be scratching around for anything with a bit of push. It’s not a complete write-off, but you’ll want to check the banks and be patient. The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is pretty much spot on for this time of year, so it’s comfortable out there.

Things start to get more interesting on Sunday, August 9th. The swell bumps up to a clean 4ft, and with that glassy morning wind, it’s going to be looking tidy. The period is a short 7 seconds, so it’s not going to have much punch, but it’ll be fun on the right board. The energy is picking up too, hitting 415, so there’s a bit more life in the water.

The mornings through Monday and Tuesday are similar, with some cross-off winds and rideable waves, but nothing that’s going to have you calling in sick. Then, around Wednesday the 12th, we see the real pulse arrive. A longer period S/SW swell starts to fill in, and the energy jumps into the four-digit range, hitting 1029 by the afternoon. This is when it starts to get proper. The swell is a solid 3ft with an 18-second period, which is a long-period groundswell. That kind of period really favors a river mouth like this, grooming the lines and giving them some proper shape. This is the standout of the whole window in my book. Thursday the 13th keeps that quality with similar conditions, and the energy stays strong at 1063.

The wave heights stay around the 3ft to 4ft mark through Friday the 14th, still with that lovely long period and clean conditions. The afternoon of the 14th sees the swell jump to 6ft, but the period drops off to 8 seconds, so it loses a bit of that clean, powerful feel.

Saturday the 15th is still surfable, but the wind picks up a notch, and the swell gets a bit mixed up. Then Sunday the 16th is a complete wipeout. The wind goes nuts, with gusts up to 37 mph, and the swell jumps to a stormy 10ft with a short period. Unless you’re a masochist or a kite surfer, give it a wide berth. That’s a full-on hold-down risk, way too big for beginners and messy for everyone else.

After that stormy blip, things settle back down. The start of the new week, Monday the 17th, has some okay waves but the conditions are a bit iffy. From Tuesday the 18th through to the end of the window, we get back into a more consistent groove. The swell hangs around the 5ft to 6ft mark, with a period of around 8 seconds. It’s not the long-period perfection of the 12th, but it’s consistent and clean. The best of these later days look like Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd, where the energy is solid and the winds are light.

So, in short: the first couple of days are small, then we get a fantastic window from Wednesday the 12th through Friday the 14th with that long-period groundswell – that’s your best bet. The weekend gets blown out, and then the final week is just solid, dependable surf. For a beginner, the 10ft day is definitely a no-go, and even the 6ft day with the short period is going to be a handful. Keep an eye on the forecast for that mid-window, it’s got real potential.

Rusty.

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