9 19 16 morning call

Afternoon surf session much better than the morning one for me yesterday. That didn't take much, since the surfing conditions in the morning were definitely poor. This is the best shot I was able to take after my short attempt at surfing.


Looks like the windsurfers had more fun with some still solid sets as this photo by Jimmie Hepp shows. Good luck at surfing those waves! The windsurfers have 2 huge advantages in this blown out conditions:
- they can go much faster around collapsing sections thanks to the extra speed induced by the wind in the sail
- they can negotiate bumps and hit lips with much more easiness thanks to the footstraps that connect them to the board.
Because of its windy nature, Hookipa is more often a good windsurf spot than it is a good surf spot. That's also the reason why I moved to Maui 15 years ago, so I guess I should be thankful for that.
It's hard to remember that now that I mostly surf and I'm trying to surf those blown out conditions, that's why I write it here. It's a reminder to myself, sorry guys if you have to read it too.


5am significant buoy readings.
NW
3.2ft @ 11s from 313° (NW)

Waimea
2.7ft @ 12s from 332° (NNW)

Pauwela
3.1ft @ 12s from 326° (NW)

NW swell hanging in there with 3f 12s at the Pauwela buoy and similar reading but 1 second less at the NW buoy. That means that we'll have waves around head high at Hookipa also throughout today. Stay tuned for the beach report for a more precise size indication.

Lanai       

1.3ft @ 16s from 220° (SW)

Even after looking at the wind maps from a week ago, I'm not sure where that energy at the Lanai buoy comes from.
I highly doubt it's the start of the angular spreading of the strong but oriented towards the Americas fetch we discussed last week, as this one should start tomorrow with a higher period.
But wherever it comes from, there is something if you want to surf the south shore. As usual, check the webcam for a better idea of size and consistency.

MC2km map at noon shows some wind, but not particularly strong because of the original direction being around 68 degrees. Remember, 75 to 85 gets the most amplification from the Haleakala. The more easterly it is, the more amplified it gets, but also the gustier.
So today the wind should be fairly steady. Unless it goes up and down with the squalls, of course.


Current wind map shows a weak NW fetch up in the corner between Kamchatka and the Aleutians, a quite long and well oriented windswell fetch (that'll make the period go up hopefully a bit) and a couple of tiny fetches down south. Once again, nothing to be excited about.