It is winter in Hawaii. That means that the temperature is mostly in the 70's and we get cool nights and a good share of rain. It also means surf season for the North Shore of Oahu, which is where we live. On the map you can see the North Shore area outlined in red. Our town of Waialua, the red circle, is in this area. The green highlights the part of the North Shore that has famous surfing in the winter months. It stretches from the town of Hale'iwa up to Kahuku Point, and includes things like Sunset and the Bonzai Pipeline. This area gets really big waves in the winter, sometimes 35 to 40 feet in height. Our beach is just outside this part of the North Shore. We have a shallow reef and, this, plus the angle of the beach realative to the ocean current and the prevailing winds, means that we don't get the beautiful curling surf competition waves. BUT, we DO get waves in the winter!
This is our beach on an average winter day. The waves are good size, maybe 6 or eight feet on these days. But yesterday was a day of really BIG waves. They were averaging about 25 feet per wave, and coming in fast and frequently. So that you get some idea, here is a bit of video...
This view looks westward towards Ka'ena Point. and then directly below our deck that is on the shore.
This is looking northeast, towards the Sunset area. The waves make a lot of noise. When they come in this fast and hard on the reef, it sounds like a freight train going by. When the ripple effects of the big waves com in over the reef and hit the shore they make a thumping sound. Sometimes they hit so hard we can feel the ground vibrate. It is humbling and awe-inspiring to experience the force and power of nature so close to hand.
ALOHA
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