Another North Swell?

By Carlos Rock

Ho’okipa looking nice. Photo: Carlos Rock.

OK, summer is clearly here, but there are still north swells coming in that are bigger than normal.

Surfers in Hawaii have been so spoiled this winter because of the longevity of the seasonal swells. According to the forecast, a N/NW is expected to build Tuesday/Wednesday and peak on Thursday at 5-10 feet.

What? Another north swell and its almost May? 10 feet? Yes. And thank heavens, because there are no signs of any decent size south swells on the forecast either so surfers are hoping these north swells never stop coming.

These swells with a little bit of a northerly tilt  are great for Maui because they don’t suffer from shadowing from the other islands like almost every other swell does. And depending on the size of the north swell, there could be some wrap around energy producing surf on other parts of the island.

It’s up to you to decide which ones are worth the drive.

There was also a small south swell that did create some waves at Big Beach, Makena as a little preview of what summer has in store and what Big Beach is capable of holding, which is pretty much everything from 1-foot to 20-foot and bigger. These waves are no joke, and a mistimed drop could give you a face full of sand or worse.

Big Beach yesterday. Photo: Carlos Rock.

Big Beach is great place to practice and get comfortable with barrels and learning how to gracefully fall and not suffer the consequences. And it is also a great place to cool off from the summer heat.

The hot summer weather is definitely here and the light Kona winds are keeping things extra hot and sticky during the work day. The ocean has warmed up a bit also.

The light Kona winds are expected to stick around until Thursday/Friday when the trades come back to clear out the vog. These light winds have produced glassy conditions persisting throughout the day but the mornings have been especially glassy.

Honolua going off. Photo: Carlos Rock.

As far as this new north swell, hopefully there is one more (big one) out there.