Page 7 - MidWeek West - Oct 6 2021

For starters, the northwest (NW) swells started up on the first day of fall, Sept 21. Perfect timing, plus it looks like there’s no end in sight for surf till next summer; nothing really big like win- ter, but we’re just getting warmed up.
The biggest surf contest news is the results of the U.S. Open of Surfing in Hunting- ton Beach from Sept. 26. Hawaiʻi girls ripped with two making it in the semifinals: the legendary Coco Ho and relatively new big leaguer Gabriela Bryan (age 19) from
beat Ho, but ended up losing in the finals to Caitlin Sim- mers (Oceanside, California); get this — the new champ is just 15 years old! Simmers is the second-youngest ever to win this prestigious con- test. The youngest won back in 2008, another Hawai‘i prodigy hailing from Wailua, Kaua‘i, Malia Manuel, at 14 years old. How do these girls get so good so fast?
This was Colapinto’s first big contest win. It’s as- tonishing he has yet to win as the 23-year-old talent is brimming with ability and drive. He won the Vans Tri- ple Crown back in 2017 as a teenager. Colapinto and his bro Crosby are heavy Pipe- line chargers and I won’t be shocked if Colapinto nails a world title someday. By the
Last but not least, Ac- cesSurf is back after a long break for its DATB (Day at the Beach) service. It’s usually held at White Plains in ‘Ewa but it’s still COVID-19 restricted. They’ll pivot to Ali‘i Beach Park in Hale‘iwa Saturday, Oct. 9. Please go to acces- surf.org for details. Mahalo for your support for what they do.
There’s even a huge ty- phoon off Taiwan named Mindulle, who’s veering northeast (NE) into the NW Pacific as I write. Sometimes these large storms become
The other side of the equa- tor, the land down under, is still sending us south swell as good as summer. In fact, we’ve had continuous south swells for weeks and weeks.
On the men’s side, Hawai‘i didn’t fare as well as the girls. Zeke Lau (recent winner of ABC’s The Ultimate Surfer) lost just before the quarters to standout Huntington local
And thanks for being here with me in MidWeek’s West O‘ahu Voice.
“gender benders,” transform- ing from a warm core to typi- cal cold core low pressure as they track NE out of the trop- ics. They can “recurve” and head east toward Hawai‘i, leading to our first large west to west-north-west swells of the new season. They are rare, so we just have to wait and see. As of now, it’s mod- eled to move north and end up in the west Bering Sea, leaving us with small 2- or 3-foot surf from the west.
There’s a really good se- quence of storms coming off the southeast coast of New Zealand, with the best one having started Oct.1- 5. This will spell pump- ing south-southwest swell around Oct. 8, lasting into the middle of the following week. For the latest forecast, be sure to check out surf- newsnetwork.com.
Kīlauea, Kauaʻi.
In case you missed it, Bryan
and previous winner, Kolohe Andino. He lost out in the quarters to Nolan Rapoza, also from the West Coast. The final two were from sunny Southern California: Griffin Colapinto (San Clemente) besting Jake Marshal (Enci- nitas).
way, his interviews are en- tertaining. Check ‘em out.
OCTOBER 6, 2021 7
Aloha surfers and beachgoers, Welcome to Rocktober. It’s going to be epic with tons of surf and events!
BY GARY KEWLEY
Winter Is Coming; Hawai‘i Girls Smash U.S. Open
GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
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