North Shore.
Now
· updated 15 hours agoE/NNW swell at 6-7 seconds holds Wednesday under strong east wind, with wind-sea heavy and conditions chopped up. Thursday sees similar 1.6-1.7m at 6-7s from E/N, still strong east wind and wind-driven surf. Friday builds to 1.8-2.2m N swell at 7-13s under strong ENE-E wind, marking the week’s peak with heavy wind-sea keeping things choppy despite the size. Weekend holds 2.0-2.2m ENE/N swell at 8-12s under continued strong east wind, slowly easing through Sunday. Early week drops to 1.8m ENE/WNW swell at 7-8s with persistent strong east wind and wind-sea heavy, then fades to 1.5m by late week under moderate east wind. Looks like Saturday dawn under moderate east wind may offer the least-ch
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About North Shore
The North Shore is 11 km of Oahu’s north coast from Haleiwa to Sunset, the most concentrated stretch of high-consequence reef breaks on earth. The headline is Banzai Pipeline, a left tube over a flat lava reef at Ehukai Beach. Backdoor breaks right off the same peak. Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay, Off the Wall, and Rocky Point line up within walking distance. The Pipe Masters has run since 1971 and is the centrepiece of the Triple Crown of Surfing every December.
Pipeline season runs November through February, when North Pacific storms send long-period north to north-west swell straight at the reef. A typical winter day is 1.5 to 3 m; the outer reefs and Waimea switch on past 5 m. Trade winds blow east to north-east, offshore at most breaks through the morning. Glass-off is dawn. The trades fill in by mid-morning and turn the lineup sideshore. Summer is flat. The trades blow hard. The whole coast goes swimming beach.
Water sits at 23 to 25 °C in February, 26 to 28 °C in September. Boardies and a rashie cover the year. The reef is the hazard, not the water. Pipeline breaks over a tabletop of lava with caverns inside; a wipeout drops you onto live coral. Sunset is a deep-water peak with currents that pull west. Crowds are the second hazard. Locals run every peak; hierarchy is strict. If you haven’t surfed Pipe before, sit at Rocky Point or Haleiwa and earn your way over.