Page 3 - MidWeek West - Aug 25 2021
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Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
What a south swell we had last week! The surf hit 8 feet Hawaiʻi scale or 15 feet crest to trough; it was the big- gest south swell all year.
BY GARY KEWLEY
Be Alert For High Surf Advisories
I surfed a spot I can’t men- tion for two days in a row out in my ‘Ewa Beach “hood.” My shoulders are still tight as I write this! I narrowly es- caped severe punishment a couple times trying to punch through huge set waves as they “pitched” out over me while paddling up the wave face. Yes, it’s called getting “caught inside”; it’s not fun when the surf’s big. I was
The National Weather Ser- vice posted a high surf adviso- ry for this past super-charged swell, but with a new twist. For decades, the criteria for an advisory was 8-foot fac- es or crest to trough. Now, as of Aug. 2, the threshold is 10 feet. This equals double or two-times “overhead”; it is truly when a waves’ power and volume have consequenc- es.
If I may share my person- al opinion, I’d suggest that anytime the surf is well over the high surf advisory criteria, this should be mentioned in the advisory. This serious ep- isode we experienced actually reached solid 15-foot faces or high surf warning levels. Though many surf spots did not hit this benchmark, some did.
It’s all about safety, so mak- ing these distinctions could save lives.
AUGUST 25, 2021
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ready to bail my board and swim deep in a split second if that heavy lip should hit me. I could have easily been knocked out or broke my board — or worse, my neck.
playing it super safe by the NWS, as most surfers with some experience love this size wave and are not afraid. But add 2 feet, and plenty surfers start paying attention. Yes, 2 feet can make a difference.
phrase advisories, when need- ed. For example, “Surf along southern shores will be above high surf advisory levels of 10-foot faces or surf will be approaching high surf warn- ings of 15 feet.” In the case of this last big one, we could have said, “Though surf will be above advisory thresholds of 10-foot faces, some zones are expected to reach warning levels during the peak.” Now you have people’s attention.
The 8-foot threshold was
So, maybe we could re-
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