Swell brings first summer surf
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
The waves on O'ahu's south shore never did reach the predicted 15-foot range yesterday, but none of the thousands of surfers out to greet the first swell of summer seemed to mind.
Matt Wakabayashi hits the lip at Kewalos, a popular break when summer brings waves to south-facing beaches and surf-starved urbanites.
"It's still exciting. We've been waiting all winter for this; we can wait a little more," said Eric Hill, president of a local real-estate company and a bodysurfer lounging in the shade at Point Panic with friends, hoping the waves would soon reach epic proportions.
For most O'ahu's surfers — the ones who don't have the time, skill, energy, inclination, or gas money to
regularly surf the powerful North Shore waves — the first big swell of the year
on south-facing beaches is a special occasion, something like the start of summer, opening day of baseball season and a high school reunion all rolled into one.
People had been talking for days about the coming swell. Cell phones buzzed. Web sites got checked. Old friends contacted one another. Dates were made.
So when the swell arrived yesterday morning with moderate 4- to 7-foot faces on a picture-perfect day, no one was complaining.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
"We were supposed to be cleaning the house today, but when we woke up and saw that white water off shore, everything else got put on the side," said Nathan Guillermo of 'Aiea, who sat on top of a pickup truck with son Keoni checking out the waves. "It's grab the boards, pack a lunch and the only question is which way are we going to go, left or right."
Head-high waves and larger sets drew eager surfers to Diamond Head after rumors built for days about the year's first south swell.
Surfers from Barbers Point to Portlock said yesterday that a south swell brings out crowds, families, friends, lifelong buddies, high school pals you haven't seen since this time last year.
"It's the start of summer, the time when all the cockroaches come out of the woodwork," said surf photographer Mike Rogers. "It's a time to see what's up, what's happened to whom, who has more gray hairs."
A good south swell, which happens maybe four or five times a year, is more easygoing, less intense, surfed with hot-dog skills at favorite breaks such as Lighthouse, Concessions, Old Man's, Flies, Ala Moana Bowl. It's surfing for two hours in the morning, lunch, a nap at home and back for an afternoon session, when it might be even bigger.
"The south shore doesn't get the same power as elsewhere, so you see a lot more kids and women out there," said Ross Barnes, who had just finished a two-hour session at Kewalo Basin with his son, Sean.
Alexandra Florence drove in from her North Shore home Friday afternoon with her surfing prodigy sons, John John, 11, and Nathan, 9, and stayed with friends to be ready for the first waves of summer at Kewalos.
"There's a little less pressure and a lot of aloha on this side," she said.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
"I prefer the North Shore, but this is cool, too," added Justin Putz, a college student on a budget who said the rising cost of gasoline helped him choose Diamond Head yesterday even though he heard there were similar-size waves near Pipeline.
Cory Facteau,who moved to Hawai'i from Seattle last year, says he tries to surf every day, but a swell in town is still "something special."
News of the coming swell surfaced Tuesday or Wednesday, putting imaginations into high gear.
"It's something you wait for all year, so by Thursday I was wondering if I was going to have to skip school to be here," said Mark Hanson, a substitute teacher who was out at Flies by 7:30 yesterday morning.
Even those new to the Islands could sense the excitement during the week.
"All the surfers were chattering like birds in a tree. Everyone's calling everyone else or driving by the ocean to see if it's arrived yet," said Cory Facteau, a University of Hawai'i student who moved from Seattle last year. "I try to get out every day, seven days a week, but there's still something special about this."
By 1 p.m. yesterday, the big waves had yet to arrive, and speculation was turning to when they would hit.
"Probably this evening, with the high tide," Hill said.
"More likely tomorrow," Rogers said.
"I'm hearing Monday now," Florence said.
Still, the sun was shining, the winds were light, the water was warm, the days were getting longer, friends and family were spending the day together, the surf was on the rise and no one was complaining.
Summer had arrived.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
