Page 3 - MidWeek East - Jan 19, 2022

We had our first Waimea- sized west-northwest swell of the season with waves reach- ing 12-18 feet on Jan. 9.
For the latest forecast —and it’s looking good — check snnhawaii.com and we will dial you in.
For over 40 years I’ve been watching and reporting the surf for Hawai‘i nei and I have to say, I don’t recall seeing Waimea Bay more crowded. There were nearly 60 surfers bunched together with more than six Jet Skis in the water just in case. There were tons of waves steam-rolling in with good conditions most of
the day, but it was a circus. If good luck with fair share. getting barreled — over
Then, breathing down the neck of that episode we got an even bigger one a few days later. It’s rare to see such a
The Da Hui Backdoor Shootout had gotten in two full days of fun competition at the time of this writing. It usually scores insane waves and this year was no excep-
you wanted your fair share of waves, you had to surrender to the circus and even then,
Still, some pretty epic rides were had including the hero- ic Mark Healy going left and
and over again. He’s one of the best watermen walking the planet.
SEE PAGE 11
JANUARY 19, 2022 3
A loha surfers and beachgoers,
BY GARY KEWLEY
Waimea Bay Welcomes Crowds, Wetter Winter
Moana Jones Wong celebrates while riding a wave at a recent surf contest. PHOTO COURTESY BETTY DEPOLITO/BANZAI PRODUCTIONS
Whoa, what a winter it has been!
one-two punch on this scale, especially in a La Niña winter pattern, which typically gets smaller swells with less con- sistency. La Niña also means a wetter winter, and this most certainly has panned out.
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