Know Your Surf Report!
Knowing the Maui Surf Report is vital to any type of surfing. Paddle boarding, body surfing, body-boarding, longboard surfing, shortboard surfing, canoe surfing, wave ski surfing, stand-up paddle surfing, and some of the ways to enjoy the breaking waves. So, accurately predicting where and when the waves will be good will help us to get the most from our sessions. For the current wind conditions and the surf report, you can call the closest surf school or shop. They will usually give you the actual local conditions.
Before choosing a location to surf you should know the general surf forecast, and you should know the special conditions in the local area where you intend to surf. Water depth, tide height, rockiness, currents, and other water users (including marine life), must all factor into whether the spot will be a good choice. Take care when entering the water anywhere on Maui. Even if you only want to go wading, there could be more power in the waves than you anticipate. Keep in mind that not all areas on Maui are patrolled by lifeguards. So you will not have any rescue if you get into trouble. Also you should not venture out to a spot without checking with the locals for any unseen hazards.
Beware the Surf Zone! Unless you want to be deliberately in the ocean, then you should always stay beyond the reach of the Waves. Many people get dragged into the ocean accidentally because they were unaware of the reach of the waves. Your first clue will be wet sand or wet rocks. If the area you are sitting is wet, then it is within the reach of the waves. Waves do not all come at once so the big wave may only come after 5, 10, 15 minutes or so. Waves will often surprise people with their suddenness and unexpectedness. So be warned: Usually, the safest place to be at a beach is up at the vegetation line. Once you are on the slope of the beach you are within the reach of the waves. Also when at any shoreline, especially on rocky ledges do not get close to the ocean’s edge. Waves can suddenly and violently surge up onto shore and drag everything back into the ocean. Sadly many people die from this in Hawaii (and other places).
The first 10 feet of the ocean edge is the most dangerous! Watch out when wading or just standing in knee deep water. this is when you are very vulnerable. Many people say they “feel safer” when they do not go out too deep. If they are weak swimmers or non-swimmers, or fully clothed, they tend to stay in this wading zone. This is not a safe place to be, especially for a non-swimmer. It is very easy to lose your footing when wading. And then it is a short trip to deeper water or getting rolled over and smashed by a wave. Countless injuries occur in waist deep water from waves knocking people over and dumping them on their heads – even experienced swimmers!
Never turn your back on the ocean! Always keep your eye on the ocean even when sitting on the beach. Always face the ocean so you can see the waves approaching. Never turn your back on family or friends swimming in the ocean, and never let children play in the ocean or beach unattended.
Important Information
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TIDE HEIGHTS: The tides are affected by the moon’s position, relative to the earth and sun. The earth’s rotation makes the tides move around the earth on a daily basis, which means that they will arrive at different locations at different times. The moon phase determines whether the tidal range will be big (spring tides) or small (neap tides). Springs occur at the full-moon and new-moon, while neap tides occur at first-quarter and last-quarter moon phases. Every lunar month there are two sets of spring tides and two sets of neap tides. Tide predictions are made from decades of observed data, at given locations. The data is usually given in tide charts which help mariners to anticipate the rise and fall of the water level at their location. The tidal data observation point on Maui is located at the Kahului harbor. The tide times for other areas are given with corrections to the Kahului charts.
TIDAL RANGE: Hawaii typically has a small tidal range varying from 1.5 to 2.5 feet difference from low to high tide heights.
TIDAL FREQUENCY: There are two high tides and two low tides every lunar day (approx 24 hrs 50mins). High tides and low tides are on average 6hrs12.5mins apart.
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STORM SURGE: The predicted tidal heights are affected by low pressure “storm” systems that create less surface pressure, and cause higher than expected tides. Storm surge from wind-driven water piling up at the shoreline can add up to twenty feet to the expected tide level. This will, of course, be very destructive as the sea level rises above break-walls and sea walls causing the inundation (flooding) of the land.
SWELL CREATION: The waves we experience in Hawaii are the result of storms (lows) hundreds or thousands of miles away. The more intense the low, the stronger the winds and the more powerful waves that may be generated. The strong winds blow across the surface of the ocean (called a fetch), for several days generating waves that become swell. The swell travels along in the same direction as the wind that created them. Swells can travel great distances across the deep oceans without losing too much energy. Until they start to hit the shallow water near the islands. When the swell hits the shallow water it may cause the swell to turn towards shore in a process called refraction. Refraction will cause the swells to wrap around the islands and give a variety of waves.
SWELL DIRECTION: The direction from which the swell is coming is called the swell direction. It is expressed in degrees from North. 0 zero degrees is North, 90 (ninety) degrees is from the East, 180 degrees is a South Swell, and 270 degrees is a West swell. The swell direction affects the areas that the swell will hit. North facing shores will get the brunt of a Northerly swell. West facing shores will get the westerly swell etc. Other shores may get a wrap-around wave but it will be less powerful than the direct wave.
SWELL EFFECTS: The factors that affect waves are many, the direction of the waves depends on the angle (vector) of the wind that created them, then also depends on “shadowing” behind neighboring islands, then refraction (bending/wrapping), and diffraction (spreading) around the islands due to changes in water depth. Swell height is calculated by the average height of the significant Swells in the sets. Some waves will be larger than the forecast height of the waves. Swell heights and wave interval gives important information to the overall power and quality of the resulting waves. The swells will be pushed up into much higher waves depending on the shape of the shoreline that causes them to break. A steep shelf/reef or shoreline will cause the wave to gain height quickly. A narrowing bay will also intensify the wave height and power and increase the amount of surge and wave runup.
SWELL SHADOWING: The neighboring islands may shield our shores from receiving the swell. If the swells path is blocked by another nearby island we are said to be in the swell shadow. Swell shadows also come from our own headlands and shield certain beaches from receiving certain swells. When Maui receives a northwest swell it can often be blocked by Molokai and even Oahu, North easterly swell is often smaller at Kanaha Beach than Ho’okipa because of swell shadowing from the west Maui mountains and Mokolea point near Kahakuloa.
SWELL FORECASTING: Surfers and meteorologists track the storms in the north Pacific and the south pacific, that may generate a significant swell. The larger storms that persist for the longest will create the biggest waves. A good indication of the storm’s ability to create waves is the wind strengths in the storm. Waves will be generated parallel with the isobars surrounding the storm. When the isobars are closely packed there will be strong winds, and when they are pointing at the islands, there is a good chance that a swell will be heading our way. Then there are a network of offshore weather buoys that uplink motion data to satellites. These “Waverider Buoys” relay the information to us about the size (wave height) and duration (period) of the waves as they pass underneath the buoys. Watching the buoys will tell the surfer how the swell is progressing toward the island. There are also powerful computer wave models that extrapolate the data and tell the story of how the wave motion may be anticipated. Once the waves encounter the ocean floor close to the islands they will be affected by refraction, reflection, diffraction, and interference. The computer models can predict the behavior of the waves as the pass through the island chain. There are some graphs of the island swell shadow lines, to help the forecaster predict which swells will be caught at different locations on the island. There is a swell direction model that shows the predicted effect of the islands on the incoming swell.
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Wave Direction: The wave direction shows the direction from where the waves are coming from. Usually expressed as degrees from north, North is 0 degrees. northeast is 45 degrees. Wave direction is significant when forecasting because swell can become blocked by a neighboring island. Swell direction can tell you which part of the island the waves will hit.
Wave angles: Waves will turn toward shore when they get to shallow water. The process is called refraction. Waves will wrap around the islands, and headlands too. Waves that break at an angle to shore can produce a longer ride. Cross-shore waves may also produce strong long-shore currents too.
Significant Wave Height: The significant wave height is the average of the highest 33% of the waves. This gives an indication of the general size of the waves however, individual waves may be far larger than the average and may be up to two times higher than the significant wave height.
Wave Period: the wave period is the time it takes for two wave peaks to pass a fixed point. The longer periods indicate a larger more powerful swell with a greater potential to produce larger waves. Wave periods usually range from 2 to 20 seconds. Extremely large surf can be 30 to 40 seconds between waves. Tsunami waves sometimes have extremely long wave intervals of 5 to 15 minutes.
Tides and Waves: Tides will affect waves. Lower tides will bring the reef and seafloor closer to the surface. This will make the waves break earlier at a given location. Shallow water can make the waves get steeper and more hollow. Generally higher tides will create fuller waves. At very high tides some breaks will become swamped and un-ridable. Some very low tides will expose the reef and make surfing dangerous. The specific effect on your local break is best observed over time. In Hawaii , here is a small tidal variation, of a few feet between high and low tides. Hawaii has a diurnal tide, with two highs and two low tides per day.
Moon Phase and Tides: The Moons gravity creates the tides. The sun has a lesser effect on the tide. The high tide moves across the earth as the earth rotates. When the sun and moon are aligned the combined gravitational force causes a higher than normal high tide, and a lower than normal low tide. These are called Spring Tides. There are two spring tides per month. Spring tides occur during the full moon phase and new moon phase. When the moon and sun are quartering the earth their gravitational forces are competing for the tide. This causes the high tides to be lower, and the low tides to be higher. The tidal differences between high and low tides and less. This is called Neap Tides. Neap Tides happen twice a month at the first quarter and 3rd quarter moon phase.
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Ocean Waves Formation: Ocean waves are usually formed by a distant wind. Usually storms generate strong winds that act on the ocean’s surface for several days. The strength of the wind, and the duration it blows have a factor on how the resulting waves will be. The area which the wind affects the surface is called the fetch. The larger the fetch, the greater the waves produced. the small waves generated by storm winds are often confused and disorganized. These waves that come from a storm are called a “sea”. The sea travels in the direction that the wind was blowing. After some distance the waves become more uniform in a process called interference and assimilation. Smaller waves are eaten by larger waves, and some waves will cancel each other out. The organized waves are then called a swell, and they travel across the ocean in a wave train. The wave train transmits wave energy through the water, But not much water itself is moved forward. The swells lie low and wide in an undulating rhythm, and they do not create much resistance as they move. This wave energy can travel across the ocean for hundreds or thousands of miles. Swell height and wave length are measured from a series of wave rider buoys. the height is an average of the larger waves in the series. The wave length when measured in time called the wave period. The time in-between two wave crests is its period. Long wave periods mean that the waves have more power stored in them. The longer the wave period usually means that the resulting waves will be larger. Swell travels across the surface of the ocean to a depth of about half the wave height. Waves become arranged into sets. Sets are groups of waves with a pattern. Usually sets consist of some smaller waves followed by some larger ones.
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Moon Phase and Tides: The Moons gravity creates the tides. The sun has a lesser effect on the tide. The high tide moves across the earth as the earth rotates. When the sun and moon are aligned the combined gravitational force causes a higher than normal high tide, and a lower than normal low tide. These are called Spring Tides. There are two spring tides per month. Spring tides occur during the full moon phase and new moon phase. When the moon and sun are quartering the earth their gravitational forces are competing for the tide. This causes the high tides to be lower, and the low tides to be higher. The tidal differences between high and low tides and less. This is called Neap Tides. Neap Tides happen twice a month at the first quarter and 3rd quarter moon phase.
Surfing on Maui
Maui is one of the lesser known Hawaiian surfing locations. Because Maui is nested among several other islands much of the swell can be blocked by the surrounding islands. The other factor is Maui’s legendary wind. Great for windsurfing, but bad news for surfing. Most beginner surfing is on the south west shores. Surfers usually go out early to take advantage of the light morning winds. There are a few breaks near 1000 peaks to Lahaina that stay in a wind shadow during the afternoon. In summer the southerly swell brings fun longboarding waves to the south shores. In summer the north west swells bring larger waves to the north shore.
What You Should Know
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Watch out for shore break. Especially when the tide is high and the swell is up. There tends to be more shore break. Shore break is waves breaking into the shoreline, and they can be especially dangerous even when they are small. Take care when crossing through the shore break, and do not linger there. Get in and get out quickly, do not lose your footing, and definitely, do not drop your kite/sail in the shore break. Also, watch out for logs and debris in the shore-break, even rocks can get thrown around and hit you. Your board too can become a projectile if it gets caught in the shore-break. If you do drop a kite, sail or board in the shore-break, be very careful trying to retrieve it. Don’t get caught in-between the object and the shoreline when there is a wave behind it, or it will run you over. people can get pinned under their kites or sails when the wave piles water on top of it. Note: Don’t be holding onto any kite lines/sail as a shorebreak wave hits it because the sudden force will cause it to wrench out of your hands too. Moving water contains a lot of energy, so make sure that you do not get in-between the moving water (wave) and the shoreline. the other danger with shore-break is getting flipped over and dumped on your head. This is super common because you will have no traction on the sea floor once you become buoyed up in the water.
Key Point Recap: Shore-break is dangerous, Shore-break happens at high tide during a big swell. Do not linger in the shore-break zone. Don’t drop kite or board in shore-break. Logs, rocks, and boards can become projectiles in shore-break. Objects like kites, sails and even large SUP boards are almost impossible to hold onto in the shore break and become dangerous. (Kiters: Never hold onto kite lines in the shore-break). There is a high risk of getting flipped over onto your head and injured.
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Most of Maui’s waves are reef break and can get gnarly at low tides. Some breaks can only be accessed from the rocks, so watch out for sharp rocks, coral and sea urchins. The north shore can get bumpy so we usually ride slightly longer boards than at other islands to overcome the resistance. Maui’s water is warm and even in winter, you may only need a shortie. Some of the most popular breaks can get crowded so check out a few spots before deciding to paddle out.
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Often it is better to go out at less crowded spot with slightly less perfect surf. This way you will catch more waves and catch less stink eye from the other surfers. Always respect other surfers, don’t hog all the waves and don’t drop in. Maui’s surf is enjoyed by all types of surf riders, shortboarders, longboarders, canoes, bodyboarders, some body surfers, and standup paddle surfers, and the occasional wave-ski rider.
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Some breaks will be better suited to certain types of surfer. Some breaks will cater to several types of surfer. It is important to respect the other types of surfcraft, Standup Surfers have come under some criticism recently because of their ability to catch unbroken waves. Some standup riders have been hogging all the waves and have made it almost virtually impossible for longboarders to get any waves. Longboarders need a steeper wave to take off on, longboarders and wave skis, can take off earlier than shortboarders, and shortboarders can take off earlier than bodyboarders. It is “pono” to share the waves. (Pono = means doing the right thing).
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The Hawaiian Islands are susceptible to tsunamis. Tsunamis are usually quite rare but can happen at any time. Tsunamis are a series of large devastating waves caused by geological events, like earthquakes and undersea landslides. In the event of an undersea earthquake, large sections of seafloor can suddenly shift causing a huge displacement of water. Unlike regular waves that are an accumulation of smaller wind waves. Tsunamis are much larger and will breach the shoreline and inundate the land.