Big Northwester for Legends Contest

By Carlos Rock

Big Honolua Bay for Saturday. Photo: Carlos Rock.

A big northwest swell is to light up the upper west side of Maui as the rest of the north shore saw large and unruly surf, with more on the way.

The weekend started with a huge 18-30 ft WNW swell that saw Jaws awaken once again but wasn’t quite its gigantic self as the direction wasn’t right for it. But there were still plenty of 20-30 foot faces available for whoever wanted a piece of it.

The huge WNW also hit Honolua Bay and sent some solid surf roping into the bay all day Saturday. There was, however, north winds that made most north facing spots onshore, including Honolua which usually always sees offshore conditions. Nonetheless, the waves were still solid to keep everyone on their toes, and their leashes in check.

Dreamy conditions for the Legends contest. Sunday at the Bay Photo: Carlos Rock.

The swell was expected to veer more north Sunday, which is a more favorable direction for Honolua, and the trade winds were expected to return as well to produce those classic offshores for the Legends of the Bay contest.

Maui’s finest were greeted with A+ Honolua Bay while other surfers were forced to surf further up the point or watch and enjoy the show.

And it was a great show as men, women, boys, girls, longboarders, and bodyboarders, all showcased their talent on the Honolua walls. Maui has a lot of up and coming talent ready to take over the surfing world.

Here’s one more. Photo: Carlos Rock.

Some of the kids were ripping just as hard as the older guys as the event finished up almost in the dark. It was probably the most anticipated event on Maui, before there was news of a Jaws contest, as surfers get to surf the often times ultra-crowded Honolua Bay with only a few other guys. No prize money, just some merchandise, points, and getting to surf perfect uncrowded Honolua of course.

That’s worth the entrance fee right there.

The cliff was packed to its maximum as people were there to watch and surf.

Another huge 18-30ft+ N/NW is set to hit Tuesday (1/22) with more manageable surf expected for the rest of the week.

However, a NE swell will also be on tap which might make the lineup a little disorganized.