Waiwakaiho Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Waiwakaiho.

Right, first things first – the next few days are a write-off, I’m not gonna lie to ya. We’ve got a week of messy, blown-out conditions before things really start to turn. The swell is all over the place, the wind is a problem, and it’s just not worth paddling out for. From Wednesday the 22nd right through to Tuesday the 28th, the surf is mostly poor or marginal. Friday the 24th is a full-on washout with a big, ugly 10ft NW swell and a strong onshore wind – that’s more of a kite-surfing spectacle than a surfing one. The whole weekend of the 25th and 26th is just massive and messy, with energy readings hitting four and five digits (6998 and 13669), but it’s all cross-shore chop. Honestly, don’t bother.

The water temp is sitting at 59°F right now, which is about normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Now, the real standout window opens up on Thursday, the 30th of July. This is the one. The morning kicks off with a clean 10ft groundswell from the WSW, period of 13 seconds, and a gentle offshore breeze from the SSE. The combined energy is a solid 4108 – that’s proper grunt. It’s a lot of water, so this is for the experienced crew only. The afternoon cleans up even more with a light cross-off breeze and a 10ft swell holding in, period stretching to 16 seconds, and energy at 4600. This is the best of the whole forecast – clean, powerful, and long lines. If you’re confident, be there.

After that, we get a bit of a drop-off. Friday the 31st is still big (13ft to 15ft) but the wind swings cross-shore and lumps it up, so it’s more of a maelstrom. The first weekend of August is clean but smaller, with 5ft to 7ft swells on offer. Nice enough for a cruise.

Then, another standout pops up on Monday, the 3rd of August. The morning delivers a 5ft groundswell with a very long period of 17 seconds from the WSW, clean as a whistle with a light offshore breeze. The energy is 1495 – moderate but high quality. And get this – the afternoon goes glassy. Completely glassy. A 6ft, 16-second swell with zero wind. That’s as good as it gets for a clean, lined-up point break-style wave. The longer period will mean bigger gaps between sets, but it’ll be worth the wait.

The 6th of August is another solid day with an 8ft WNW groundswell and clean cross-off winds, but by then we’re getting deep into the second week, so keep an eye on it.

So, to sum it up: tough start, but Thursday the 30th of July and Monday the 3rd of August are your absolute standouts. Waiwakaiho is a sandbar, fairly consistent but can get a crowd, so get in early.

Rusty.

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