Surf's up on all O'ahu shores
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
After weeks when the ocean seemed barely awake, O'ahu surfers are finding waves on every shore.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
South, west, east. There are even waves on the North Shore, where Surf News Network said it "will be very ripable all week." (That's surf-speak for good.)
With sizable waves pounding the south shore, it's hard for Waikiki body boarders at "The Wall" to call it a day. But they can look forward to more sunshine today, with 3- to 6-foot surf forecast for O'ahu's southern beaches.
"Surf everywhere but Lake Wilson," said independent forecaster Pat Caldwell.
North- and east-facing shores will see 8- to 10-foot faces today through Friday. By the weekend, they'll drop to 6-foot faces, the kind of stuff "most mortals enjoy," Caldwell said.
"This is the ideal size range for the majority of people who surf, but after six weeks of almost zero waves, even three to four feet gets people excited," Caldwell said. "It was quite a long flat spell."
Gary Kewley, president of Surf News Network, a forecasting service, said conditions like this happen only a few days each year. His forecasts are calling for slightly smaller waves on the North Shore but slightly larger waves on the south shore.
"It's a blast, every shoreline is breaking," he said. "This happens maybe two weeks out of the whole year. Everyone is happy and it has just been packed everywhere."
At Kaiser's, on the south shore, Jeannie Chesser said she had surfed every day since Friday.
"Everybody is kind of stoked," she said. "Most of the regular guys who come out here every day were getting disgruntled. There were so many beginners coming out. Now all the rippers are out and the beginners are going elsewhere."
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
