Whale Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. First up, the short-term picture is pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of poor conditions ahead before things finally turn on.

Right now, we’re looking at a few days of mush and onshore junk through the 1st and into the 2nd. There's a bit of new energy arriving Wednesday morning, with 5ft of SSW swell and a 15-second period. The energy reading is moderate at 1065, but the wind is cross-onshore and the waves will be lumpy. Not great, not terrible, but enough to get wet if you're desperate. The rest of Wednesday stays rough as that swell builds to 6ft with a 16-second period, but the ENE wind is on it, so it's fairly choppy.

Now, the ugly part: Thursday afternoon through the weekend. By Friday, we get a serious pulse — 16ft of S swell with 11-second period and huge energy readings of 6100 and 6395. That’s a lot of water moving, but the wind is screaming out of the SSE and SE at 19-22 mph, onshore and lumpy. This is not paddle surfing. This is kite-surfing territory at Whale Rock (Big Island). For the average surfer, it’s a mess. Heavy rain too, so you’re not missing much.

Saturday is still big — 13ft and 10ft of SSE swell — but the wind is still on it. The energy remains strong at 2379 and 2649, but the conditions are marginal at best. You'd be battling currents and chop for nothing.

Finally, the standout window arrives on Sunday morning, the 6th of September. The swell is a solid 13ft of S groundswell with a very long 18-second period, and the energy is pumping at 11283. The SW wind is cross-offshore and the guidance shows clean conditions. This is the one to circle. It's big, so this is only for advanced surfers, but if you can handle it, Whale Rock's reef is going to be firing with that south swell lining up with the optimum direction. The period is so long it will push through with serious power. That's our highlight.

Sunday afternoon stays big with 13ft and a 16-second period, but the wind jumps to near-gale strength (34 mph) out of the SW, so it’ll be blown out and unruly. Monday the 7th is a write-off too — huge SSE swell with strong onshore winds, all messy. Tuesday the 8th is still big, 7ft, but the wind stays cross-onshore, so, again, not worth it.

From Wednesday the 9th, things settle down but the magic is gone. We've got 10ft of E swell with moderate energy around 4000, and light cross-shore winds in the afternoon. It looks a bit more manageable, but it's a step down. The E swell isn't the optimum direction for this reef, so expect more lining up on the takeoff but maybe not the same barrels.

The rest of the second week — the 10th through the 14th — is mostly small to medium, cross-onshore winds, and low energy. A few knee-to-waist-high leftovers, but nothing that'll get you out of bed. By the 14th, we're down to 3ft of S swell with weak energy (85), and the wind is on it. The run fades out flat-ish.

The call: You need to be patient. That Sunday morning, the 6th, is the standout — big, clean, powerful south groundswell at the reef. If you're not an expert, sit that one out. Then you've got Wednesday the 9th as a smaller, less exciting but still rideable option. The rest is either too big and blown out, or too small and sloppy.

Water temp is 69°F, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Rusty.

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