Oahu’s North Shore returns to moderate-to-high surf conditions today that are likely to prevail through Wednesday before tapering off. Surf is in the 8-10 foot Hawaiian scale range this-morning — wave face heights of around 15 feet — and should climb gradually higher by late afternoon. Unfortunately, as has been the pattern this winter, this swell is not going to reach the extra large category needed to run the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau. The scenario is the same on the West Side of Oahu for the Quiksilver Premium Ku Ikaika Challenge, presented by C4 Waterman; waves are in the 6-8 foot range there today, but not sufficient to run the event. A marginally high episode is showing on the radar for arrival Wednesday. It is unlikely to develop into anything Eddie-sized, but could produce waves in the 10-foot+ category for the Ku Ikaika. Stay tuned for updates. The final day of the holding periods of both the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau and the Quiksilver Premium Ku Ikaika Challenge is Saturday, February 28. At this time, there is no expectation of “The Eddie” running.

Monday, February 17: The North Shore is currently enjoying a solid pulse of north-west swell of around 10 feet Hawaiian, while strong trade winds that have blasted the Islands for days will continue for several more days yet. This swell will diminish through Wednesday, to be followed by another small-to-moderate north-west swell later in the week. The early stages of a system are currently coming together and could result in a moderate to high swell episode around February 22/23. Once again, unfortunately, it looks like falling short of an “Eddie”-sized swell – somewhere around 15+ feet. This could bode well for the Quiksilver Premium Ku Ikaika Challenge, Presented by C4 Waterman at Makaha, on the West Side of Oahu (Check out the event link at quiksilver.com/kuikaika)

Eddie Swell Update

Monday, February 9, 2009: It will be a relatively mellow week on the North Shore of Oahu this week. Following a solid pulse of NW swell on Friday that saw waves reach 15 feet Hawaiian scale on outer reefs and 10-12 feet inshore, the situation is much quieter today. Very small surf should give way to a couple of small to moderate swells tomorrow (Tuesday) and Thursday, likely seeing waves of between 6 and 8 feet from the west/north-west, veering north/north-west. At this stage, there is nothing in the models to suggest any Eddie-sized swells in the coming two weeks.

A series of moderate to large – 10-12 feet – northwest swells will arrive along the North Shore of Oahu this week, starting late Monday and lasting through to the weekend. Definitely no Quiksilver Eddie-sized episodes for at least the first week of the month. The holding period for the Eddie runs through February 28 and long range forecasts are definitely not ruling out the possibility of extra-large surf before the conclusion of the period.

For Monday, January 26, 2009: An energetic Pacific Ocean will gradually peter out this week as swells diminish below 10 feet for approximately the next week and a half. A series of small to moderate swells will keep the North Shore active, but nothing on the large size is expected in the coming 10 days. The jetstream has migrated north, keeping winter storm systems further from Hawaiian shorelines, and therefore keeping the large swells at a distance. Five weeks remain in the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave holding period.

Jodi Wilmott

Photo: Bernie Baker

The Eddie will not go at Waimea today. Conditions this morning consisted of chocolate brown water, strong Kona winds and 20 foot surf. Stay tuned for more updates, however, as the North Pacific is highly active right now.

Healey Goes Skydiving

Wednesday 1/14/09: All bets are off for The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau running in the next few days. A combination of factors come into play including borderline wave heights, time of arrival of the swell, and strong, adverse winds. Buoy 51001 showed a major jump at around 5am this morning and the forecast is for wave face heights of up to 35 feet at their peak late tonight. At 9am on Wednesday morning, waves are only measuring face heights of less than 10 feet. The first swell will peak tonight and then be reinforced by another swell of similar size on Friday, persisting into the weekend. The major negative at this time is the onset of super strong SW to W winds – gusting up to 60mph – starting tomorrow and pushing into Friday. These winds, coupled with remnants of the first swell and the arrival of the second, will make for confused, messy conditions. These winds will also ruin conditions on the West Side of Oahu, likely destroying any potential for the Quiksilver Ku Ikaika Challenge, sponsored by C4 Waterman.
-Jodi Young

-Jodi Young

North Shore Swell Update 1-5-09

The North Shore surf highlight this week is a WNW swell that could see waves hit the 15-foot advisory level late Tuesday into Wednesday. However, rumors are already stirring for bigger and better surf in the long range forecast for the following week. North Pacific winter storms continue to drop down closer to the Hawaiian islands raising the potential for large to extra large surf. The Eddie requires extra-large to giant scale surf, so we’ll need to see how these developing systems unfold as the week progresses to get a take on how large surf will actually be.

Healey Weekly Waimea Update – Interview with Shane Dorian