This is around 7am, before I paddled out.
Ibrahim was already having plenty fun by then.
This is after my first session and orange juice break at home (time stamps says 10.49am).
Not sure why those next two came blueish, I must have fooled around with the settings. But look at the shape of that wave.
Tanner Hendrickson put up the usual aerial show.
Robby Swift getting barreled at Lanes.
Don't know this guy and there's no need for comment. Maybe other than: The point loves the Kona.
I once labeled this guy handsome and her sister told me his name and the fact the he's a fireman. I forgot his name (maybe Jeff?), so we'll call him the handsome fireman. He's got a knack for picking the right ones at Green Trees.
Tanner.
Alan Cadiz.
The handsome fireman hits again.
So does Cadiz.
What a morning. The windsurfers went out in the afternoon, but I didn't find any photos of that action, which I imagine must have been pretty good too.
5am significant buoy readings
South shore blown out by the Kona
North shore
NW101
5.7ft @ 9s from 286° (WNW)
5.1ft @ 8s from 272° (W)
4.5ft @ 12s from 296° (WNW)
NW001
6.3ft @ 9s from 290° (WNW)
5.4ft @ 7s from 258° (WSW)
5ft @ 12s from 298° (WNW)
Waimea
4.3ft @ 13s from 329° (NW)
Pauwela
3.4ft @ 14s from 324° (NW)
2.6ft @ 11s from 357° (N)
No signs of tomorrow's new large WNW swell at the buoys.
We learned that the NW buoys are not particularly sensitive to the small size long period forerunners of a new swell (specially if there is other energy in the water like in this case), so it could be that they're there but they don't get registered, but I still don't think we'll see anything at all locally today. NOAA WW3 model, in fact, predicts the first long period reading for Pauwela at 1am tonight as 0.5f 22.7s from 138, that should become 10.5f 17.5s by 6pm.
So today we'll have to deal with a declining mid period NW swell and with a steady small N swell (that's what Pauwela reads), but more than anything we'll have to deal with another round of strong Kona. Kona winds can be heaven when they blow 5-10 and hell when they blow over 10.
Most Maui surfers consider last winter like one of the most remarkable ones in recent history (and it was indeed) because it had plenty extra large swells produced by an El Nino situation, but it was also because we had an unprecedented (at least in the last 16 years) number of light Kona days. And that was an exception. Usually when the Kona starts squeezing in the valley between the Haleakala and the West Maui Mountains, it comes out pretty strong.
Anyway even if blown out, Hookipa will still be surfable and I'll post a beach report between 7 and 8am.
Current wind map shows:
1) the elongated WNW swell responsible for both tomorrow's large swell and for today's kona wind
2) a N fetch
MC2km map at 7am shows already moderate Kona (Hookipa sensor reading 5-21 mph at 6.10am).
The 2pm map shows it increasing into the 20-25 range. It's my experience that that can mean gusts up to twice as much.
The 5.30am satellite image shows the new front approaching Kauai. It doesn't seem to be nearly as strong (in terms of clouds and rain) as the previous one, but we'll keep an eye on it tomorrow.
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