A big country swell, but town isn’t pau yet
Friday - November 09, 2007
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Aloha, surfers, We just had our biggest swell of the season! It pumped out 6- to 10-foot local scale (10 to 18 feet crest to trough) on Sunday, Nov. 4 for the Xcel Pro day two. Sunset was near as good as it gets for this size. Light to moderate rare southeast winds blow exactly offshore for country, since it faces northwest. These are my personal favorite conditions, and many surfers agree. S/E winds blow into the rights perfectly - opening them up for tube riding. Add a big swell to a velvet surface texture and you have it all.
My last article mentioned “classic Sunset,” as I always do when I write about Xcel president Ed D’Ascoli’s infamous luck with scoring great waves. In the event’s 24-year history, there have only been a few years that Mother Nature did not put on a show of epic jacking Sunset.Yet, I always bow to her - as last week I wrote,“This three-day competition has permits until Nov. 10. This should be plenty time to end in classic Sunset Beach. But I don’t want to jinx it, so just pretend I didn’t write that.” The forecast was for 6 feet max, if lucky. We’ll, everyone got lucky - real lucky. The Kona low that brought all our nasty weather pushed out the most powerful surf yet. Ed D’Ascoli said, “This was, hands down, one of the top 10 contest days we’ve ever run in the 24-year history of the Xcel Pro.”(See XCELWETSUITS.COM) We needed it too, since this fall has been the smallest on record!
I guess we should simply call Ed’s fortune Xcel-ent. There’s just one more day to go, and at this point it looks like it’ll be the last day of the holding period, Saturday Nov. 10. No matter what comes, 2007 will be remembered.
Now, don’t stress if you can’t drive up - just watch it live from home on the Xcel website listed above. Surfing Live will be doing the great job it always does. The SNN team will have the “first call” for contest status (ON-OFF-STANDBY) at 596-surf and 638-rush by 7 a.m. daily. This will be the same M.O. for the Vans Triple Crown starting Nov. 12 at Haleiwa for the Reef Hawaiian Pro!
How about that whomper South? It peaked with some 6-foot sets with plenty 5-foot waves to go around. The main issue was the south Kona winds mushing it out. Just as offshore winds create great conditions like mentioned above, “onshores” do just the opposite. The reason is winds blowing offshore hit the front of waves, cleaning and shaping them - plus, winds from land to sea don’t have time and distance for chop to build. The Konas (like trades, but on opposite or wind-ward shores) can have hundreds of miles to build over the ocean surface and hit waves from behind; this causes them to break too soon and lose shape and “hollowness.” Of course, this is for normal breaks with gradual sandbars and reefs (not spots like Makapu’u and Sandy Beach, which are another story).
At any rate, getting any South swell this time of year is a good deal; plus, there’s more to come! Oh yeah, town isn’t done with us yet. Log onto SURFNEWSNETWORK.COM for the most accurate near- and long-range forecast.
Last but not least, a million mahalos to everyone who showed up for the Da Hui - Wolfpac Beach cleanup last Saturday. It just keeps growing. It’s great to see more youths getting involved, too. The country looks and feels much better, thanks to you.
Remember, there have been wastewater overflows from those heavy rains. The public is reminded to stay out of flood waters and storm water runoff. If the coastal waters are brown, please stay out. This is especially important for those with compromised immune systems and/or open sores or cuts. Always clean up well after going in the water. If you notice any signs of illness afterward, see a doctor at once. Any questions, call the Clean Water Branch of the state Department of Health at 586-4309.
I’ll see you in the clean lineups and back here next week. Thanks for being here!
GQ, dropping in 4 U!
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