Wednesday 8 14 19 morning call

An animated debate is happening between my coworker Mauricio and I: provided a south swell is big enough to lit up most island spots, is it better to seek big and challenging waves or smaller clean perfection in Lahaina? Yesterday I went to "his" spot, today he's coming to "mine".


Not much room to screw up, as the rocks are dangerously close.


Conditions were a 5, so after that first session, I felt like driving to Lahaina anyway and took this one on the way.


Here we go, much safer and way more fun for me. Plus, there's much more variety and options: at least 7 different breaks (two of which you can go left or right from the same takeoff spot) in what I call "the two miles miracle".


3am significant buoy readings and discussion
South shore
Hanalei
2.7ft @ 14s from 278° (W)

Barbers
3.4ft @ 14s from 229° (SW)

Lanai
3.1ft @ 13s from 217° (SW)

Below is the map of the Hawaii buoys (available for future reference at link n.0 of GP's meteo website list) that shows that the nearby buoys most exposed to the west swells are Hanalei, Barbers and Lanai. The first is not influenced by the south swell, so 278 is the real direction, not the ones indicated by the other two. Those ones, in fact, keep feeling the running south swell (which was still providing head high waves yesterday), and propose a direction which is a mix of the two. It's a misleading information, there's two swells instead: a west and a south.


We knew that already because we also know the position of the fetch(es) that generated the swells. Below is the collage of the maps of August 4 to 12 that show the position of the typhoons responsible for the west one. Here's Pat Caldwell's words.
Typhoon Lekima 8/4-6 east of the Philippines aimed swell at Hawaii that was given additional push by nearly stationary typhoon Krosa 8/6-10. Krosa weakened as it tracked away to the NW 8/10-12. The fetch was over 3000 nm away.
This swell is going to last at least a week.


So today there's two options: Lahaina for the south swell (and an improbable but possible west wrap north of Lanai) and Kihei for the west one. More info on shadow lines in the post Buoys to Maui travel times and Maui's shadow lines. There's webcams for both linked in the webcam section, check them out and decide.

North shore
Mokapu
2.8ft @ 6s from 93° (E)

North shore is going to be tiny to flat. That's too small and east of a windswell in fact, and the west energy won't get to the north shore at all.

Wind map at noon.


North Pacific has one last day of west typhoon fetch and a couple of other ones.


Beautiful S fetch in the South Pacific.


Morning sky.