Trades May Return, But Surf to Remain Excellent

By Carlos Rock

Waiehu. Photo: Carlos Rock.

East facing shores saw amazing surf this past weekend. Big and glassy in the mornings with a little onshore breeze for the afternoons.

And it just keeps getting better with the offshore Kona winds added to the mix for Monday (1/14).

The whole weekend was almost too big and unruly for select spots, as strong currents ripped through lineups dragging people to places that they did not want to be.

Also, this swell was a dead on east swell with no northerly tilt to it which is more common for these spots. This made some spots break a little differently, and some not so good at all. Waiehu was big, 5-6ft (10-12ft faces) easy at the top spots, but it was almost too big as wash through sets would clean up an entire lineup leaving surfers out of position, and some with broken leashes, and shattered egos.

Nice offshore wind. East side. Photo: Carlos Rock.

The big surf also kept the crowd numbers down as well.

What was really great about this swell was that it hung around for the whole weekend and didn’t really decrease in size significantly. The forecast got it right this time and the light winds made for an epic weekend of surf. Normally, swells don’t hang around for more than 2 or 3 days, and this one was still going strong on day 4.

All Maui needs is some light winds and most spots that are usually blown out and torn up from the relentless trades become playful and sometimes, epic.

Monday was showing that this is the best day yet for this swell. A little smaller which makes it more manageable at the top spots and, of course, the offshore Kona winds are cleaning up the faces and providing many opportunities to get some barrel time.

If you want to get barreled, this is the time to go out and try.

Secret Spot east side. Photo: Carlos Rock.

And the action is not stopping, with a building 8-12+NW swell Monday and a really big WNW swell in the 15-25+ foot range here now, it’s been a great winter season.

Look out for the Backdoor Shootout Contest at Pipeline and the Legends of the Bay contest at Honolua Bay.

With the trades expected to return to normal Tuesday to clear out the Kona haze that has blanketed the islands for the weekend, the surf will still remain in the excellent range.

For now though, we can go out and surf different spots and still ride the east swell and milk it for all its worth with the glassy/offshore conditions.