Saturday, May 14, 2016

5 14 16 morning call

Double session for me yesterday.

First one was at Hookipa with short period waves up to shoulder high. Fun, until it got crowded and a bit windy.
No big deal, I liked the shape of the little waves I saw on the Lahaina webcam (which I posted in yesterday's call) and I drove over there. Went to check my friend Josh Weisfeld shaping shop and scored an spectacularly unique board to try.

Check it out.


I mean, how can one not want to try such a thing?!


Don't want to get into the details of something that was a total experiment ("Journey to the unknown" is written on the bottom) and clearly got a modification down the line (the crazy fin), but I can assure you that the thing rode differently from anything I've ridden so far.


It was like going on a date with a woman that you know it's gonna behave differently than any other women you went on a date with so far. Kinda priceless, really.
And it didn't even go too bad, by the look of this shot.


After work I drove to Hookipa that looked fun at sunset, but I didn't feel like challenging the crowd, the long wait and the high tide. "Better hit it early tomorrow morning", I thought.


Which I did, that's why I posted the beach update first (that you'll find below this post). It wasn't better though. I think there was actually more size at sunset (because of the longer period) and it was already crowded at 6am. Plus I don't do good on an empty stomach. Amazing the energy that a mix of complex and simple carbohydrates gives you.

Significant buoy readings 7am
NW
3.4ft @ 11s from 282° (WNW)

Waimea
3.3ft @ 13s from 323° (NW)

Pauwela
2.6ft @ 8s from 4° (N)
2.3ft @ 13s from 319° (NW)

Lanai
1.6ft @ 15s from 194° (SSW). Bit of energy on the south shore, the Lahaina cam shows small waves, but not flat.

Not much energy leftover from the N swell, it's all about the new NW one and the characteristics of the two are very different. Other than the direction and period of course, the first one was generated much closer to the islands and was extremely consistent. Its windswelly nature also provided Hookipa with a multitude of peaks that contributed to spread out the crowd. In other words, there were plenty waves for everybody.
Instead this morning the sets were relatively inconsistent and when they came they were a much longer bar that offered less take off spots. In other words, NOT plenty waves for everybody.

Interesting how this swell stayed steady at the NW buoy after the peak (red arrow), while instead it went down in size at Waimea. It also peaked at least one feet bigger at Waimea compared to Pauwela, but that doesn't surprise me, seen the westerly direction at the NW buoy. There should be waves all day, but the late afternoon should be smaller, because the period is slowly going down.


MC2km map at noon (time stamp on the top right is old, but the map is updated, I think), shows a more onshore direction than normal, which has been the case for all week.


Wind map shows a weak NW fetch.


South Pacific map shows a weak fetch SE of New Zealand.


Saw this video on facebook and I feel like posting it. The return of the fish and alternative shapes is a big thing at the moment on the mainland (even though the video is from the 2011) and it's slowly catching up in Maui. That's also one of the reasons why I'm gonna do the Surfboard Shaping Workshop that I've been advertising on this blog and that starts Monday. Even though I'm conscious of the immense knowledge that an experienced shaper has compared to a beginner like me, the idea is to design my own boards on the computer. I'm not even going to bother with the real shaping let alone the building of the board. I'll leave that to the masters.

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