11 13 14 morning call

4am main swell buoy readings:

Maui north shore
5.9ft @ 15s from 330° (NW)

5.6ft @ 13s from 332° (NNW)

3.1ft @ 9s from 358° (N)

Yesterday was a gorgeous windless day of surfing in all the state and today it's going to be the same.

I'm really happy I went to the west side, because the waves were perfect over there.

This is Honolua Bay.
   

 

 

This is Jaws instead in a wonderful shot taken by Sofie of Fishbowldiaries.

 

What's on offer today? Well, it depends on your abilities. Can you surf 6f 15s Hookipa? Or you need to go down the coast? Or to the west side?
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind... too bad today there won't be none!

Have fun in the sun everyone!

11 12 14 morning call

4am main swell buoy readings:

NW Hawaii
12.1ft @ 16s from 321° (NW)

Waimea
13ft @ 17s from 329° (NW)

Maui north shore
10.8ft @ 17s from 328° (NW)

   
The boys say it all (like always). Here's the graphs of:

NW Hawaii

 

 

 

Waimea

 

Maui

From which you can appreciate:
- the time the swell took to travel from one buoy to another
- the degrade in size

The way waves travel is incredibly efficient. My guess is that if the Earth had no lands, a swell like this would be able to do the travel across the globe at least 5-6 times before dying.
But nonetheless, they do go down in size when they travel!
And that's why this swell is an extra large one, but not a giant one. Those last ones are usually generated closer to the islands by a captured fetch.
Anyway, it was and it is big enough for most of the regular spots on the north shore to start closing out.
That's when a trip to the west side becomes almost imperative.

Winds still variable will offer clean conditions, enjoy until they last! Trade winds are modeled to be back around Monday/Tuesday.

Have fun in the sun everyone!

11 11 14 morning call

4am main swell buoy readings:

NW Hawaii
9.9ft @ 17s from 325° (NW)

Waimea
5.8ft @ 18s from 330° (NW)           

4.1ft @ 9s from 359° (N)

Maui north shore
4.3ft @ 20s from 329° (NW)           

4.3ft @ 9s from 13° (NNE)

3.4ft @ 11s from 340° (NNW)

West lanai

1.7ft @ 18s from 308° (WNW)           

1.7ft @ 9s from 224° (SW)

1.6ft @ 14s from 255° (WSW)

1.4ft @ 12s from 214° (SW)

Some pretty healthy numbers on the buoys this morning.
10f 17s at the NW buoy is massive.
Waimea is sensing 6f 18s, Maui is at 4.3f 20s.
Last time I surfed 4f 20s was at Dumps in August and it was the biggest I've ever seen it.

I had a blast at Lanes yesterday, but it was 6f 13s, which is a hell lot friendlier than 4f 20s. I doubt I'll be able to surf it again today, that's when all the spots down the coast come into play.

This is the biggest swell of the year so far and it's actually missing Hawaii to the north a bit. The core of the swell, in fact, is aimed to California and Baja.

Below is the world wind map (that's how I call it) on which, other than the usual fetches in the north pacific, I'd like to point out yet another Tasman sea fetch that will provide Fiji with yet another late season big swell. They're having a great late season down there. Probably uncrowded too.
That's where Kelly broke a couple of bones of his toes a week ago.

 

Have fun in the sun everyone and be safe!

Big (d.o.), glassy and uncrowded

11 10 14 morning call

4am main swell buoy readings:

Maui north shore
6.1ft @ 13s from 328° (NW)

5ft @ 9s from 358° (N)

West lanai
2.2ft @ 13s from 254° (WSW)

0.9ft @ 10s from 249° (WSW)

0.7ft @ 11s from 232° (WSW)

0.7ft @ 6s from 234° (WSW)

 

 

 

6f 13s sounds like fun to me! Specially considering the lack of wind which is shown pretty clear by the wind map below.

This lack of wind is going to be the rule of this whole week and that, together with a major NW swell that should peak on Wednesday at 10f 16s (yes, Jaws will break), will make for a great week of surfing.

Hookipa report later today.

Have fun in the sun everyone!

Big and messy. Perfect, Napoli game is on at 7am!

11 9 14 morning call

4am main swell buoy readings:

Waimea
10.2ft @ 13s from 338° (NNW)           

4ft @ 10s from 335° (NNW)

Maui north shore

7.2ft @ 12s from 344° (NNW)

6.6ft @ 10s from 346° (NNW)

West lanai
2.7ft @ 12s from 285° (WNW)

0.8ft @ 7s from 284° (WNW)

0.9ft @ 6s from 289° (WNW)

Big swell arrived a bit late, but it's definitely hitting the buoys now (specially the waimea one).
Expect rough disorganized surf, but if the wind is not on it, it might be not too bad actually.

 

Maui county 2km has a good wind prediction till noon, but it has been off lately.
When there's a low close to the islands (like shown in the wind map below just north of the islands), it's hard for every model to be precise.



Notice also the big fetch still in the NW corner of the Pacific, that swell is going to be very long lasting... and hopefully a little cleaner without as much closely generated surf added on top.

Here's a couple of shots a friend took of me from the contest, in case you were doubting how much fun it was.

 

Have fun in the sun everyone!

Bad news: the onshore wind is already here.

11 8 14 morning call

4am main swell buoy readings:

Maui north shore
4.4ft @ 9s from 48° (NE)

1.3ft @ 14s from 70° (ENE)

1.2ft @ 4s from 56° (ENE)

1.1ft @ 12s from 9° (N)

West lanai
1.4ft @ 15s from 196° (SSW)

1.3ft @ 7s from 199° (SSW)

1ft @ 9s from 221° (SW)

 

0.8ft @ 12s from 185° (S)

Small surf in the early morning, with big stormy unruly surf on the quick rise in the afternoon.

As you can see from the satellite image below, a front is passing over the state today. As soon as it does, the wind will turn north.



As shown in the weather map below, the fetch of the local part (there's a remote component too) of this episode is right behind the front, so it's extremely close and that will show in the (low) quality of the waves.
Notice also the big fetch up NW that will send the very long lasting big swell of Tuesday.

North shore will be a big mess. Estimated time for the wind to start blowing north in Maui is 9-10am.
Before that, Hookipa might be fun with a bit of NE windswell still in the water. Expect a report soon.
South shore might be fun too with 1.4ft @ 15s.

Have fun in the sun everyone!

Small fun waves at the point and pavils