8-10 Foot Waves Projected for North Shore Surfers, Some Wrap

By Riley Yap

Payce Duryea, 13, of Paia enjoyed the waves at his favorite spot at Tavares Bay on Wednesday. More ideal conditions are expected on the north shore this weekend through Sunday with another swell expected to arrive early next week Monday. Photo by Riley Yap.

As the weekend approaches, another north-northwest swell is anticipated to provide the winter shores with more reinforcements in hopes of keeping the active surf well overhead.

The reinforcements are expected to arrive early Saturday morning and rise throughout the day with projected wave heights of up to 8 to 10 feet, peaking above advisory levels. However, this swell is not expected to last through the week so catch it over the weekend if you can.

Stay on the lookout for surf waist-high at better exposed spots of the island and select reefs favoring the north-northwest swell — producing occasional overhead sets.

Paia was jam-packed all week, cars sat bumper-to-bumper and surfers roamed the streets with their board shorts and bare feet scrambling to make an impression upon those solid blue waves that everyone’s been talking about. Beach goers and onlookers littered the more popular spots from Baldwin Park and Paia Bay all the way to Ho’okipa Beach Park.

Tavares Bay was one of the premier hot spots that Maui Now had the chance to surf this week as this winter swell provided the perfect north-northwest push that offered consistent, beautifully crafted waist to chest-high rights and lefts. Everyone had their fair share of waves on Wednesday, Dec. 11, even 13-year-old grom from Paia Payce Duryea had the chance to paddle into some of his favorite waves.

Payce Duryea, 13, of Paia at Tavares Bay. Photo by Riley Yap.

“Tavares Bay is my home break. It was really fun that day, I liked the rights” said Payce on Thursday. Payce has already been surfing for five years and says that he thinks professional surfing might be right up his alley in the future.

If you haven’t already, you should definitely take advantage of the clear skies, sunshine, and blue waters. The surf’s up and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, weather forecasts indicate that light winds will continue to kiss the ocean as we coast into the much-needed weekend. The ideal conditions won’t last long as thunderstorms and isolated showers are anticipated for late Sunday.

Nevertheless optimal surf conditions are still in effect today with northwest facing shores expected to see 2- to 5-foot faces at better exposed breaks along the north shore. Lower and upper west facing shores should see 1- to 2-foot faces all-around. Test your luck with east facing shores that will receive wrapping northwest swells offering 1- to 4-foot faces at solid breaks. South facing shores may see surf in the flat 1- to 2-foot range, with potentially bigger sets at the local hot spots.

Looking further into swell forecasts, long-range buoy models show heavy potential for large winter surf developing early next week. Stay tuned for your local updates, surf outlooks, and hot spots as the weekend unfolds.