Surprise South Swell Adds to Memorable Summer Season

By Carlos Rock

A surprise swell is lighting up the south shores of Maui today, adding to an already memorable 2013 summer season.

Dumps in South Maui (7/8/2013). Photo: Carlos Rock.

An unexpected 3 to 5+-foot straight south swell hit the islands yesterday and is providing plenty of waves for the surfers that are there to partake in the action.

Based on what we’re seeing in Lahaina, it looks like all of the west side has waves and is still building in size. These surprise swells have been hitting the islands all summer so far, providing waves consistently in the head high range at the top spots.

The light winds have also made for exceptionally glassy conditions lasting the whole day and creating very hot weather for those not able to cool off in the surf.

The straight south swells are arguably more favorable for good size swells because of the surrounding islands blocking southwesterly directions.

Dumps at sunset. Photo: Carlos Rock.

This particular swell is in fact a straight south, but it is predicted to shift in direction from south to SSE/SSW by today. The change in direction should mix things up a bit and allow the surfer to see how certain spots react to different swells.

Fortunately the swell is supposed to maintain its size before slowly fading away throughout the rest of the week. There is however another 3 to 5-foot south swell set to hit Tuesday (7/16), but building hype around a mediocre swell won’t promise anything special.

Who knows, you could find a spot that is perfectly rippable at 3 to 5-feet and could be one of the best sessions of your life, or vice versa, this swell could fizzle out and not turn into anything.