Catching up with the wind report from the last few days, on Wednesday we saw pretty light winds all around Maui as the trade winds took a day off. Despite predictions for more light wind on Thursday, Maui was able to kick it up a notch to sailable conditions.
Yesterday we got a rare August treat as an out of season north swell hit the north shore. Granted it was pretty small and sporadic by winter standards, but it was a nice treat nonetheless. Waves at Uppers Kanaha were generally in the waist- to shoulder-high range and pretty sloppy, but there were some occasional sets that were pretty nice. The swell wasn’t big enough to generate much at Lowers. It was probably shin- to knee-high at best at Lowers.
Personally, I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to get a beautiful, smooth head-high set all to myself for a nice ride with 3+ turns. Woo hoo! That one wave made the day for me. Oh yea, sail size – 4.5 was perfect for me until later in the afternoon when the wind dropped about a sail size.
I heard from a few folks that stopped by Hookipa to check it out that it was setting up pretty nice with shoulder- to head-high sets, but that it was a crowded zoo with 30 – 50 sailors vying for the wave, along with surfers. I thought about heading up there to shoot some photos and video, but by the time I was done at Kanaha at 4:00, I just didn’t have the motivation.
This morning it looks like there may be a little leftover swell still, though it is supposed to be declining and it looks like it should be plenty windy again.
