stunet, 1658106720
stunet, 1658106863
john.callahan, 1658107619
A swell for the ages - Ma'alaea never gets that big!
Craig, 1658108029
Crazy, you know it's a steep, late take-off when it looks like that on Go-Pro which usually flattens things out.
Smorto, 1658109490
Looking at the map I thought that the swell might have come through on the western side of Kaho'olawe as it'd probably have a bit of W in it.
Or was it a dead S swell? If so that is a crazy small gap.
Edit - Looked again and see NZ probably prevents any W being in the swell so it must be between the island and the crater. Can't believe the lines are so solid still after passing through that gap!
Pete Jovic, 1658109794
No music. No skis. Just raw froth. Clip of the year.
Ash, 1658110049
Best clip in ages, what a wave.
Island Bay, 1658110284
Unbelievable wave, but pity about the devil wind.
udo, 1658110483
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgIqF8MDR8W/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgHBHbMu6iR/
udo, 1658110860
A LongTwin Torren Martyn and this Place at this Size.
frog, 1658111433
The clip above shows that the masters of fast inside takeoffs have an almost empty line up. But it can still go wrong...
One of my early copies of Surfer Magazine had a story on a similar day in the early 70s. Popular and crowded even then. Owl Chapman was full speed on one set wave and some paddler punching through the lip left the tail of his board sticking out in his path which hit him at full speed right in the mouth. I think the quote was something like "It hit me in the chops. Man, I wish that guy had not been there".
sunhil, 1658111582
Thought i was back in Sunday school....images of these waves in my head all class and hearing God's name so many times!!
stunet, 1658111927
Incredible scenario. Barrel of a lifetime and someone ditches a boogie board.
A boogie board! What on Earth are people doing out there if they can't duckdive one of them?
Not only that, but if he somehow dodged the lid, then another ten metres down the line was a Wavestorm waiting to kneecap him.
udo, 1658112355
https://www.flickr.com/photos/inter-island_helicopters/35050922511
-------------------------
Some Classic Owl
When I was 22 "I had a Cadillac, ten surfboards and ten girlfriends. Man, I thought it would be like that forever."
conrico, 1658113865
hawaiian kirra!
Craig, 1658113891
Wow, wonder how they knew a swell was coming back then!
caml, 1658114065
They are all tryin to get a shot for instagram of course mate ! The surfer probably posted, on his story before he surfed. Typical scenario, wondering why it's so crowded? all trying to out do each other with the most likes etc.
tiger, 1658114205
Insane! Is it 1000kts offshore there every day of the year?
seeds, 1658114290
That brief quote and you’re wondering about forecasting. I’m getting in the gutter. Where’s Groundswell when you need him
Craig, 1658114452
Haha, well such a super fickle spot, to be busy back in the 70's where it might turn on for a day. Fascinating.
Also the quote and photo are also epic.
Sprout, 1658115717
Pumping! How good is it out on days like that, so raw and electric.
Panman, 1658116962
I’ve been seeing that spot pop up in the media as long as I can remember,it always has that strong offshore but I guess without it it’s just too fast.
Stu2d2, 1658118646
Wasn’t that Low basically the same thing that was an ECL on the east coast 2 weeks ago that then smashed into NZ?
Craig, 1658119560
Wow, yes great spotting.
Craig, 1658119740
Actually I take that back, seperate systems.
The storm was south of Tahiti as the Tasman Low was still sitting across the Tasman Sea.
Last Monday, the 11th..
[img]https://www.evernote.com/l/AWpx1kRskXRPBa3myvvs1kh6VcCzYYdFXHgB/image.png[/img]
Stu2d2, 1658120617
Almost gave you another article!
Craig, 1658120675
I was typing it out in my head as I was checking. Damn,
udo, 1658120744
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgI8_DfFa7R/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgFzTXmPsL1/
sean killen, 1658121396
Sick clip
frog, 1658122922
They flew in for the day (Owl and Sammy Hawk) - maybe saw the south shore was huge and building so just went with a photographer. Strike missions like that are commonplace now but not then.
They did it for Honolua Bay as well in the 70s. Perfection has always been pursued.
goofyfoot, 1658123551
Tanners wave is incredible
wally, 1658127639
The very memorable photo of Owl Chapman at Ma'alaea was this one.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/R6r8zXf.png[/img]
It’s a lot smaller wave than those in the featured clip, but it’s still a great shot.
andrew-pitt, 1658130198
Fantastic clip. It's real. Love the sound of the wind, the crowd hooting, the waves crashing, the speed of the waves in real time - feels like being there in the carpark. So much prefer this style, compared to the slowed down clips, which fail to convey any sense of reality. No more slow mo!
velocityjohnno, 1658131300
Everything about this clip and thread is gold. What a wave.
Not the same, but evokes horror offshore North Point days for mine, just longer.
Is it over a sand bottom?
loungelizard, 1658131739
I remember another Owl quote at the time (yelling from car is my recollection to unknown Australian author) "you tell Rabbit no way is Kirra close to Maalaea! not fucking close!".
udo, 1658133723
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Co1Q_sghM
lostdoggy, 1658134946
That swell looks a bit more comparable to Kirra.
This recent one is insane.
wax-on-danielson, 1658136749
Give or take. Watching a wind surfing clip on Maui. It’s the windiest island for some reason.
Dirt Track, 1658140345
Say what you like about Hawaiian's surfing, but they have nailed the glue foot stance.
john.callahan, 1658148072
Venturi effect - NE tradewinds squeezed between Haleakala on one side (east) and the West Maui mountains on the other side - wind goes through the middle and accelerates.
groundswell, 1658164495
Heard from a local, the last time it broke this well was17 years ago.
stunet, 1658179513
I can magically make all the ads go away, but it'll cost you $2 a week.
https://www.swellnet.com/pro/subscribe/chooseplan
Malmayhem, 1658186486
Not one claim yyeww
billie, 1658186746
Nebulous in my memory is the name Maalaea Bay, "the fastest wave in the world". Mentioned rarely but in a hallowed tone by surf writers and captioned the same way by editors. Amazing to see a day for the history books almost live.
I can't believe how narrow the gap within the islands is!!! Must have been monster big on those outer islands.
frog, 1658188603
Going on memory again of the Surfer story from the 70s (read that mag many times), I think Owl commented in the original article: "I've got a lot of beer in me there"
stunet, 1658188923
It's coral and it's very shallow (it rarely gets wave energy to subdue growth)
udo, 1658190476
https://hanahou.com/8.2/the-blue-moon-break
https://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/maalaea-saved
http://public.surfrider.org/files/maalaea_makingwaves1990.pdf
Stu2d2, 1658202673
Bummer, I love a system that ends up sending swells to a range of coasts would have been a good read.
A query around SAM though - it’s been negative since the end of that SSW swell in June and like clock work we’ve had a bunch of lows in the Tasman with SAM being positive. Forecast to go negative and we have S swell (albeit with E as well) in the water so it’s obviously a fairly good predictor of swell direction in the Tasman sea.
Yet a massive system springs up just to the east of NZ at the same time (I get there is some randomness to everything). So does SAM only really affect this part of the world? Or does it somehow affect South America and Africa as well, if so how?
walkar, 1658204838
Mike Stewart still rocking it. Legend.
velocityjohnno, 1658211997
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/18/hawaii-waves-swell-south-pacific
front row property got worked
Craig, 1658214720
It's actually been positive since that June negative..
[img]https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/daily_ao_index/aao/aao.gfs.fcst.png[/img]
And it's a Southern Hemisphere index, but more Australian centric I think regarding the obs that go into it (will have to check).
I feel the SAM isn't always the best gauge as it depends where the LWT is focussed even when the SAM is negative. If over towards West Oz, they get all the fronts, but if Vicco or east, the south-east of the country does.
gunther, 1658219896
Looks like a tricky wave - with all that wind you want a decent sized gun to get into it early, but then you would prefer a shorter board to pump in the barrel. Hypothetically, what would you ride out there?
wallpaper, 1658223762
reckon. finally something to watch that wasn't mostly a pile of fucking bullshit
Stu2d2, 1658225485
Sorry, I meant positive. Interested to see what you come back with.
morg, 1658268199
Yep, at this time of year. Great for kite surfing, wind surfing and there are plenty of waves to be surfed with a bit of protection to.
billie, 1658272376
How is that long area of fetch pointing straight North? HUGE!!!
caml, 1658276691
You can ride whatever. There's some longboarders making waves on video, Some boogers too.
Looks like the deepest riders had boards a bit longer than a short board.
My choice ; is about 6"8 - 7"6 ,
desert storm, multi fin.
Jono, 1658277617
Albee Layer on getting burned twice during makeable deep barrels...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgNAo-ApQvx/
Jono, 1658278112
And while we're on insta, Ian Walsh with a very nice pit
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgLLUCdpdAu/
Ronson, 1658280821
Looks just like the old photos. Was gonna say..."didn't they kill that wave with some marina development...?" but thanks udo...they did not. I remember a "top ten waves in the world" article from Surfer magazine circa 1980-81 'ish. Had all the usual suspects and only one I hadn't heard of at that point...Ma'alaea. Although not easy with that wind I doubt its rideable without the very stiff offshore to hold it up.
udo, 1658294248
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgMD2l3P3aw/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgLLa01JiKA/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgH81jevTLp/
udo, 1658295006
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyJRcxoc-Ew
DudeSweetDudeSweet, 1658302228
Best POV surfing I’ve ever seen
https://youtu.be/grBmKQ3MpaQ
wallpaper, 1658303213
hard day at the office
goofyfoot, 1658304213
Not a chance he was making that second one
groundswell, 1658308541
Now that shows the crowd a lot better..looks like a hard place to get wired and once every 17-20 year swell? good luck.Even though im part bodyboarder i dont understand why someone would take off deep there and get up drop knee..too slow way too slow...if you can get to your knee you can get to your feet on a precision designed surfboard made for fast barrels.Go fast especially on a Roy Stuart which maybe made of timber measure 10 to 12 foot and weigh 90kg but they go 180km an hour!
Sprout, 1658355642
First half sponge / second half stick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrJGmMe23DY
udo, 1658540951
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzGI-VlXMcs
memlasurf, 1658721479
Jobs done.
memlasurf, 1658721714
Why are those people out there should be some sort of filter for those not up to it.
memlasurf, 1658721891
Always wondered what Owl looked like.
t-diddy, 1658730148
hahahaha
t-diddy, 1658730151
hahahaha