Monday, January 25, 2016

1 25 16 morning call

The first photo below summarizes the conditions at Hookipa yesterday: flawless and crowded.
It's hard to enjoy when you can't make your line. For me that surfer is comparable to a pianist with two fingers tied together: he can still play music, but he can't fully express himself.


Fortunately some of the surfers were stunningly beautiful ladies like this one.

Micah Nickens knows how to navigate around the crowd (and enjoy the beauty in the meantime).
 
Little barrels on offer here and there.

Photog must have got the shot.


Toddy's composed style. He gives his best (IMO) on a big day at Honolua.

Big numbers at the buoys, please click on the photo below and read them yourself.
What I want to point out is that both Waimea and Pauwela seem to have already reached the first peak I highlighted at the NW buoy. But during the day, they will increase and get to peak 2.
Not only it will get bigger, but also a lot more consistent since the direction at the NW buoy changed from WNW to NW (I put two arrows to indicate that). Notice how steady is (and will be) the direction at the other two buoys instead. I think I saw a reading from 314 yesterday at the Pauwela one, but a swell can't physically come from more west than that, after being refracted on the upstream islands.

It's dark when I write this, so I haven't seen anything yet, but I can tell what I hear. It's one of those special days with no wind and a big, inconsistent (due to the refraction) swell. In the lulls, there's silence (on a consistent swell there's the noise of the white water) and when the first wave breaks it's a very precise... BANG! Judging from the loudness, I can say it's big, but not huge... gotta use all the senses I have!
8.2ft @ 15s from 320° (NW) at 5am at Pauwela does confirm big, but not huge.



Wind map shows the low that made today's swell now moved up in the gulf of Alaska, while a new one in the Tokyo Express convey belt is now occupying the whole NW pacific. Surfline calling for 18f 18s during the night between Wednesday and Thursday.
The Hawaiian islands, once again in this phenomenal January, are sitting in the middle of an area of no wind.


MC2km map at noon shows no wind everywhere with the exception of 5-10 knots of light trades up at Hookipa.


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