Gonna start the call with two videos to document yesterday's action. This is Jaws in a video by Jake Miller.
Well, Jake just posted this photo of Jaws this morning at around 7am, so it looks like we're gonna have more action to document in tomorrow's call!
This is Honolua Bay.
If I ever gonna become a big wave rider (not a chance in the world), I would have no doubt where to go surf in days like yesterday (and today!).
Here's a few shots from Jaws by Jimmie Hepp.
Maybe those bumps are always there, maybe we don't see them often because we don't often see photos taken late in the afternoon, but that doesn't look smooth at all.
This guy must have hit one and rode the whole wave on his butt. What a ride that must have been.
Maui own's Paige Alms.
This is Yuri Soledade in a photo by Stella Furlan.
This swell presented a few peculiarities that I haven't quite figure out yet.
Let's take a look at the NW and Hanalei buoys graphs below first. Kauai was the real star of this swell, with the highest number indicated by the red arrow at 17f 18s. The NW buoy reached 17f too, but it seems that it did when the period was already down to 15f (circled in red too), which doesn't make much sense. After that the period at the NW buoy went back up to 17, which doesn't make too much sense either.
The period of a ground swell USUALLY starts from the highest numbers and then it gradually comes down as the swell passes under the buoy. It is definitely possible that sometimes this doesn't happen exactly like that. Depending on how the fetch is, you can have a buoy registering first the shorter periods generated by some fresh winds at the head of the fetch and after that the longer periods coming from the back of the fetch. But I didn't quite see that situation in this case.
Instead, I've been noticing that the NW buoy has been unreliable in recording the highest periods (which would be showing at the other buoys first), so I'm gonna call it a glitch and move on.
The Waimea and Pauwela buoys instead show a peak at around 12-13f 18s. The direction at Hanalei was NW, so no blockage to justify such a big decay. The swell lost 5 feet between Kauai and Oahu and pretty much nothing between Oahu and Maui.
I have no idea why, let me go read uncle Pat and see if he mentions that.
Anyway, Pauwela still reads 10.2ft @ 18s from 330° (NW) (and a hell lot of other periods) at 6am, so the morning will still see pretty big waves. Coming down throughout the day, but not by much.
Wind map shows the storm that is going to send the next swell on Sunday/Monday. The fetch aiming at us is circled in red. The bigger one aiming at the Marshalls is circled in blue. This is going to be the last big swell for a while, as a solid high pressure will take control of the Pacific after it. Lots of wind, with shorter period, choppy, bumpy waves. Wind addicted folks will be happy.
MC2km maps not updated yet at 7am, light trades should be up in the afternoon.
PS. SUP world tour contest at Sunset Beach could be on and live here. Hope they run it, since I'm still home with a cold and missing all the action in the water, but it's probably way too big.
PPS. I just read this article about Albee Layer's stressful week. An example of how the buoys can help you take the right decisions.
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