Page 3 - MidWeek Windward - Aug 25 2021

Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
What a south swell we had last week from Monday through Thursday (Aug. 16-19)! The surf hit 8 feet Hawaiʻi scale, or 15 feet crest to trough; it was the biggest south swell all year.
BY GARY KEWLEY
Some Thoughts On Last Week’s South Shore Swell
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 ready to bail my board and swim deep on a split second if that heavy lip should hit me. The great difficulty is knowing how to read exact- ly when the cresting wave is going to hurl its heavy water
Some of Surf News Net- work reporters said they saw some of the biggest waves in 10 years along our Leeward coast. The Ala Moana–Mag- ic Island channel had some closeouts. On Tuesday, there was several hours when no- body was out at Kewalos ... and that never happens! There was plenty heavy water!
The National Weather Service posted a high surf advisory for this past su- per- charged swell, but with a new twist. Many may not know that for decades, the criteria for an advisory was 8-foot faces or crest to trough. This was the same for East shores like Maka- puʻu and the entire island chain. Now, as of Aug. 2,
The 8-foot threshold was 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.
Now you have peoples’ attention.
out, over and onto the trough (where the bottom flattens out). I could have easily been knocked out or broke my board — or worse — my neck. Of course, I’d have preferred my board take all the punishment.
the threshold is 10 feet — again — for both South- and East-facing shores. This 10 foot equals double or two- times “overhead”; it is truly when a wave’s power and volume have consequences.
If I may share my person- al opinion, I’d suggest that anytime the surf is well over the high surf advisory crite- ria, this should be mentioned in the advisory. This serious episode we experienced ac- tually reached solid 15-foot faces or high surf warning levels. Though many surf spots did not hit this bench- mark, some did.
high surf warnings 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.”
In closing, I’d like to make a suggestion. The swell we had was only a high surf ad- visory by the NWS.
Mahalo for spending your time with me again this week in MidWeek’s Wind- ward Oʻahu Voice!
AUGUST 25, 2021 3
So, maybe we (the media and NWS) could rephrase advisories, when needed. For example, “Surf along southern shores will be above high surf advisory levels of 10-foot faces or surf will be approaching
It’s all about safety, so making these distinctions could save lives.
GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
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