Living on Oahu, people often ask me if I miss the seasons. For me, the answer is a firm no. I live for endless summers and constant sunshine. And on Oahu, we do have a changing season of sorts. Only it doesn’t come in the form of falling leaves and winter coats, it comes with the shift of the swell.
In the wintertime, Oahu’s North Shore lights up. During a typical year, swell dots the Seven Mile Miracle from October through April. As spring fades into summer, the swell slowly dissipates before the North Shore goes dormant for the summer, transitioning from a world-class surf destination to a diver’s paradise. But as the North Shore goes quiet, the South Shore begins to awaken for the summer.
During the summer months, swell is consistent on the South Shore, with a few big swells. The past few summers have been a bit of a letdown with only a couple of decent swells. But this summer, things are already heating up.
At the end of May, a huge south swell hit Oahu, lighting up every break on the South Shore. I don’t venture into the heart of Waikiki often, but for the swell, I decided to brave the crowds and hit Pops with friends. Walking through Waikiki, you could feel the energy. You never know when the first south swell will strike. The stoke levels were high that swell had arrived early and had some serious size.
If you’re familiar with Waikiki, Queens and Canoes are the main breaks in front of the hotel sprawl. Pops sits further out past the Royal Hawaiian and is a fun right-hander that is often less crowded thanks to the fifteen-minute paddle required to reach it. Pops is normally a mellow, longboard wave, but on this particular day, it was anything but. With the excitement of the first big south swell, it wasn’t immune to the crowds, but there were waves aplenty, so the lineup was relatively spread out. The waves were four to five feet, with the odd rogue set, making riding my log challenging, albeit exciting.
After a winter of consistently surfing small stuff, with the occasional trip to the North Shore for decent surf, I was completely gassed after three hours. I scored a few epic rides that were well worth the collection of salt water I had up my nose and paddled into the beach to refuel with one of my favorite post-surf snacks: Banan.
Banan is located on Waikiki Surf Alley, so you can immediately refuel after paddling in from Pops, Canoes, or Queens. Banan serves soft-serve frozen yogurt-style, blended bananas that are completely dairy-free and locally grown. You can top your bowl with fresh local fruits, honey, granola, and macadamia nut honey butter. It’s incredibly refreshing and tastes divine.
One of the cool things about this swell was that it coincided with the Surfing into Summer contest at Ala Moana Bowls. After we were surfed out and properly refueled, we cruised over to Bowls to watch some of the action. It was like the ocean knew. Bowls was absolutely firing, and watching people charge on their longboards was insane and so fun to watch. It was the perfect way to cap off the first real session of summer, and I was itching to get back out in the water for more.
Sometimes a swell only lasts a day or two, but the swell gods delivered with this one, and the swell held strong through the week, lingering into the next. I paddled out as frequently as work and life would allow, hitting all my favorite spots. I scored on my midlength at Kewalos and Marinelands, surfed Canoes with my less experienced friends for a more mellow sesh, and rode my log at my personal favorite break, Sandbar (also known as Old Man’s).
In general, I love living on Oahu. But living in paradise does come at a cost. It’s expensive, the stores are packed, tourists are often clueless, and the traffic is out of control. Sometimes the less charming aspects of island life can get to me, particularly endless days of sitting in a gridlock on the H-1 trying to get to the beach – it rivals Los Angeles during rush hour. But once you get there, particularly during a firing south swell, it’s so worth it.
Swell weeks are my favorites. They’re the weeks where chores pile up and emails sit unread. They’re sunrise strike mission, sore muscles, and gathering around the table devouring post-surf burritos, relieving wipeouts and epic rides. They’re broken leashes, tan lines, saltwater, and falling asleep with the feeling of the sun on your skin, eager to wake up and do it all over again tomorrow.
