Swell direction
NE to E (045°–110°)
Windward · Oahu
Where the trades make the surf, all the way around the island.
Get Windward Oahu live dataFreeBuoy CDIP 098 · Mokapu Point, Oahu
The windward side of Oahu — Kailua, Lanikai, Waimanalo, Kaneohe — is a different surf scene from the famous shores. CDIP 098 (Mokapu Point) sits on the headland between Kailua Bay and Kaneohe Bay and reads the open-ocean swells before they reach the windward beaches. Two more buoys — 198 (Kaneohe Bay) and 225 (Marine Corps Base) — fill in inside-bay readings for Kaneohe.
What you want to see on the buoy before you paddle out.
Swell direction
NE to E (045°–110°)
Swell period
8–14 seconds (trade-wind swells)
When it breaks
Kailua-area beachbreaks: 2 ft @ 10 s minimum. Reefs need 3–4 ft.
Wind
Trades blow side-on or onshore. Morning glass is rare.
Windward Oahu picks up swell from a wide eastern arc — anything with an east component reaches the lineup. Mokapu (098) reads it first; Kaneohe Bay (198) and MCBH (225) tell you what reaches inside the bay.
098 is the headland buoy — what the open ocean is doing. 198 sits inside Kaneohe Bay and tells you what's making it past the barrier reef. 225 is even further in, near MCBH. For Kailua and Lanikai, 098 is the call. For Kaneohe Bay surf, 198 and 225 are more useful. Da Buoys lets you watch all three at once.
It's almost always 1–3 ft because the trades create constant short-period swell. You won't get the world-class days the North Shore sees, but you'll never get skunked either. For longboarders, learners, and anyone who lives close, it's the most consistent surf in Hawaii.
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