Watch: Honolua Bay last night

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

As the North Shore was pummelled by swell and the Pipe Masters was again put on hold, lines began to wrap around Molokai into Maui's north-west coast. Namely, Honolua Bay.

The wind wasn't perfect but the consistency would make Sally Fitz weep.

Comments

derra83's picture
derra83's picture
derra83 Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 10:28am

" the consistency would make Sally Fitz weep."

Ouch!

Nick Bone's picture
Nick Bone's picture
Nick Bone Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 12:53pm

Why sally?

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 12:59pm

You didn't watch her world title-deciding heat this year?

Well you didn't miss much, about two waves broke in forty minutes.

lostdoggy's picture
lostdoggy's picture
lostdoggy Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 1:00pm

She went out in Round two of the final comp for the year at Honolua to a wildcard while she was holding the ratings lead. Only caught one wave for the heat.

old-school-thrash's picture
old-school-thrash's picture
old-school-thrash Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 12:35pm

Yeah Yeah yeah!!!! on the bucket list now for some 50 years and next year 2018 NOV with all hopes high of staying with in 30 ks of the place with a mad Maui mate of mine. Bring it on bra !!

Tim Bonython's picture
Tim Bonython's picture
Tim Bonython Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 1:08pm

Glad we choose Peahi instead of Honulua.

gtkimber's picture
gtkimber's picture
gtkimber Sunday, 17 Dec 2017 at 7:00am

Look forward to the footage Tim. Who were you shooting?

blindboy's picture
blindboy's picture
blindboy Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 5:59pm

Surfed it a bit bigger than that. It felt like giant Angourie!

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 6:08pm

You lucky bugger !

What was the crowd like ?

What size and style of board were you riding ?

blindboy's picture
blindboy's picture
blindboy Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 6:31pm

Crowd was 20+ . I was surfing a 7'6" Hot Buttered single fin (this being the winter of 76-77). Magic day.

Halfscousehalfcockneyfullaussie's picture
Halfscousehalfcockneyfullaussie's picture
Halfscousehalfc... Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 7:09pm

By the looks of it, it'd have to be one of the best waves in the world over 6ft. How'd the board go if you remember?

blindboy's picture
blindboy's picture
blindboy Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 7:42pm

Great. I had to borrow it off Terry Fitzgerald as we flew over in a four seater and with all my camera gear, Dan Merkel's gear and Terry's full quiver, my own board wouldn't fit. I was surfing HBs at the time and the one I was riding was probably better suited to the waves than the one I had planned on taking. A memorable surf trip!

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 7:54pm

So just another day , eh ?

( sarcasm )

blindboy's picture
blindboy's picture
blindboy Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 7:56pm

Yeh just another day at the office really.

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 8:57pm

That wave on that board - oh my. I just went out to the shed and fondled my 6'5" single-double concave wing swallow HB.

Can you remember any highlight waves? The lines you took?

blindboy's picture
blindboy's picture
blindboy Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 9:38pm

All a bit vague at his stage so no. I have clear memories of some individual waves at various North Shore spots so while I know I got some good ones, I would think nothing too epic or I would still remember. As for the lines, at that time I was into the big carve down the face as my main manoeuvre so I would have been trying to get maximum speed up high in a nice steep section. My knees would probably collapse if I managed to hit a turn like that now!

Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41 Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 7:54pm

I'm guessing this wave is way way heavier than the dreamy talk we alway hear about it..
I think Kelly said he was caught up in inside by a 15ft double up on that perfect day a year or two ago and was smashed.
But my lord I would to drown having a go at that.
Like like dropping into 10ft winkipop pop half way down the wave then suddenly turning in to cape fear!
Yes please.

Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41 Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 7:56pm

Sorry crap predictive text!
You get the drift of what I tried to type I hope.

Halfscousehalfcockneyfullaussie's picture
Halfscousehalfcockneyfullaussie's picture
Halfscousehalfc... Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 7:58pm

That clip must bring back some fond memories. I was still cooking in my mums belly at the time. Ha

staitey's picture
staitey's picture
staitey Friday, 15 Dec 2017 at 11:04pm

It’s a place I’ve always dreamed of and not surfed .......but........

..........how good is it? I’ve seen many a day at Lennox that would rival I reckon. Could be dreaming but the only thing that seems inferior about Lennox is the barrel???

Thoughts?

Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41 Saturday, 16 Dec 2017 at 10:16am

Like you staitey! I have never surfed there but I can feel it...the perfect day that slater was there with dusty pain a year or two ago looked so heavy.
I was trying to imagine being caught inside at bells on a 12ftday by a steam train set that thundered across from Rincon and and meets its peak hight at the start of the bowl.
Now you can get abouslty flogged when that happens but it's hardly a double up top to bottom death pit like H bay is on big days.

I would like to hear a average blow jo account of a beating and good wave they had out here.

I surfed big heavy points where multiple stand up pits where going around but none of the photos match how heavy the barrels at 10ft+ hbay look in comparison.
Dreamy at 2-6ft abouslty petrifying from 10ft on I would say.

staitey's picture
staitey's picture
staitey Saturday, 16 Dec 2017 at 11:18am

True, I’d say surfing it like the girls have had it the past few years would be amazing (although I imagine getting one off the locals would be another story).
8-10+ would be a different propesition altogether

Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41 Saturday, 16 Dec 2017 at 11:23am

Yep it looked like your standard fun day at Winkipop this year for the girls Comp!

Would love to see it go of for the chick's at 10+12ft
Me thinks Tyler would dominate after that crazy barrel she rode during the black Ne swell.

Island Bay's picture
Island Bay's picture
Island Bay Saturday, 16 Dec 2017 at 1:45pm

Yep, it's pretty much my dream wave; just the right mix of perfection and randomness, and of serious power and playfulness.
And Staitey, having surfed Lennox on that magic day of the Black NE swell (and it is one of my favourite waves), i'd give to Honolua by a whisker - just by the look of it.
I wonder if outsiders who aren't ultra rippers even get a look in? Man. I'd love to give it a go.

Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41's picture
Woof woof 41 Saturday, 16 Dec 2017 at 3:06pm

Maybe swellnet could do a raffle once every year for a surf trip to Hawaii
$10 a ticket lol I'm in:-)

staitey's picture
staitey's picture
staitey Saturday, 16 Dec 2017 at 3:14pm

I was lucky enough to go to the North Shore for a couple of weeks in March this year. It pumped most of the time and really considered a day trip over to Maui,
Was too hard to run away from waves where we were...........Maybe next time.

batfink's picture
batfink's picture
batfink Saturday, 16 Dec 2017 at 5:54pm

Barbarian days (Bill Finnegan?? - couldn't be bothered to look it up) has some great stories of Honolua Bay that will scare the pants off you.

Mind you, a few of them were him and his mate tripping off their brains, nearly dying a few times, being smashed, losing boards, and IIRC, one where his tripping mate hadn't been seen for a while after a big wipeout and being smashed up on the rocks and being stuck on a ledge, unable to go up and unable to get down, without a board and tripping off his tiny head with monster sets.

Some great descriptions of the way the wave works dependent on size, although my powers of recollection aren't that good.

Although I may have mixed that up with another place, but think it was there.

Some fine surfing there, and based on Finnegan's account of many years ago, you'd have to be a freaking brilliant surfer to get a wave there. All the boys know when it's going to be on, and they have it wired.

Apparently. I'll take his word for it.