Yesterday, Sept. 29th, 2009 a 8.3 magnitude earthquake occurred near the islands of Samoa and Tonga in the South Pacific. After reports of a tsunami hitting Samoa and other islands near the earthquake, tsunami warnings were quickly put in effect for Hawaii. As the news buzzed with the idea of large waves marching towards the island, surfers eyes got large and all they could think about was Patrick Swayze in the movie Point Break and the large wave he wanted to surf in Australia.

I spent the day at Sunset Beach and everyone on the North Shore seemed to stay pretty calm. The lifeguards and policemen were telling people of the tsunami advisory (it was downgraded from a warning to advisory by 10:00am in Hawaii) and that they should use caution while on the beach. Tourists were buzzing with the news and seemed to be more excited than worried. Surfers kept surfing and people were playing in the water even with the strong currents. You would see someone get in the water and within 30 seconds they were 200 feet down the beach. Kammies and Vals reef had some really fun waves in the waist to shoulder high range, but were all these conditions due to the tsunami?

I surf Vals reef and Kammies a lot and the conditions I saw yesterday with the strong currents and random sets were nothing new. Fellow Big Wave Blog writer Tim surfed Log Cabins and said the conditions were similar, with sets being a bit larger, and that nothing seemed to be out of ordinary either. As I watched the ocean all day, (I was there from 10am-6:30pm) I didn’t see any signs of a tsunami type surge of water. Some reports say a surge happened around 3:00pm but it was minor and if it was noticeable it would have been on the South Shore. I could not find any reports about it’s effects in California.

But what do tsunami warnings mean for surfers?

We would all love to think that this is what is created by a tsunami, but in reality it isn’t. However this is what happens.

Tsunamis are commonly known as tidal waves. They involve long period ocean waves caused by earthquakes and other below ocean disturbances. Tsunamis travel at speeds of up to 500 knots. The surges they create can be walls of water from anywhere between 3-30 feet. The waves or surges caused by tsunamis are not surfable. They are quite the opposite. Instead of creating a joyous occasion of big wave surfing, they create chaos and mass destruction.

This past Friday, Pipeline and Sunset were going off during an early season WNW swell. Early morning Sunset was perfect, but then got really choppy as the winds set in. Pipe was epic all day long, peaking and becoming cleanest around mid-day.

Waimea Bay had its fair share of bomb sets as well. There were a lot of broken boards and a few injuries. I’ve been talking with a lot of people down on the beach and everyone is tripping out over the size of the waves for this time of year. I got out to surf Waimea Thursday night and it was amazing, and I can’t wait to get some more of it as this season continues. Check back again for video of Friday’s waves!

This is not the image you expect to see when looking at Pipeline this time of year.

Pig-dogging it at Pipe.

One of the most spectacular sights at Pipeline is watching it spit.

Backdoor was dangerous, as most waves were closing out on the inside with big sets out the back.

Second Reef was firing during the big sets, but there weren't too many takers.

The shifting peaks at Sunset really lit up as the swell filled in.

This guy's hoping he can race through this section without getting smashed.

You don't want to be in this guy's situation...pulling out straight with endless lines of waves coming in behind you.

There is a lot of talk out there of an El Niño winter. For those of you who don’t know what that means, then you’re going to have to read about it somewhere else, because I am not a weatherman. What I can tell you, is what El Niño means from a surfer’s point of view. It means get ready for consistent big waves for this winter season.

Basically, what happens during an El Niño year is that the wind directions and speeds change, causing the water temperatures to be thrown off in a variety of places. This makes for an abnormal amount of storms that are situated perfectly to throw large surf at the North Shore of Oahu and California. The North Shore will most likely be slammed by large swells from these storms frequently this year if this El Niño continues to develop the way it is.

One thing to be aware of is that constant big swell doesn’t always mean clean surf, and during an El Niño year the surf can be extra stormy, making for some not-so-good conditions for surfing. Regardless of what the conditions are like, I think it’s safe to say we’ll see some big waves this winter. Maybe this explains the consistent surf we’ve had early this season.

For more information about what is going on, check out Surfline’s feature on the developing situation.

Right now the locals out on the North Shore of Oahu are getting really anxious for the winter wave season to arrive. Things have been a little weird up on the North Shore lately. I surfed Rocky Point and Log Cabins in overhead surf the past few days, when I should have been snorkeling at Sharks Cove in lake-like conditions. We’ve had some way out-of-season north swells hitting the island now for the past couple weeks, with more in store for next week. Surfnewsnetwork.com is claiming an 8-12 foot (Hawaiian scale) swell for this Friday, September 25^th. That could mean 10-20 foot wave faces…in September!!! Waimea Bay even showed a little bit of life a couple weeks ago.

The question I keep hearing around here is, “if the waves are this big now, what’s going to happen this winter?” The big wave surfing Mecca of the world might be trying to tell us something about this upcoming season. It’s a pretty exciting time to be here catching these early swells before the rest of the surfing world arrives in mid-November.

Check out some highlights from last season:

I like this one even better:

There is still a lot that needs to happen to get this season really going. For some things, we just need to wait on Mother Ocean; but others we can get working on ourselves. Even during those big swells early on in September, we did not experience the real power and quality of North Shore Oahu’s big waves. The reason is the sand. The biggest change that needs to happen involving the sand will most likely take place on the first massive swell.

A lot of people aren’t aware of the role the sand plays out here on the North Shore. Places like Log Cabins, Ehukai Beach Park, Pupukea, and especially Pipeline and Backdoor, all depend on what the sand is doing on the shore and on the reef. The first big swell of each year usually moves a ton of sand around, forming sandbars and filling in holes on the reef, creating the waves that we’re longing for on this seven-mile stretch of coastline. Once the sand’s in place, the swells that arrive after will show us what the North Shore of Oahu is all about.

While we wait for that to happen, we need to make sure we are ready ourselves. Most important, we need to have our quiver of boards in order. Now’s a good time to get boards shaped so they are done no later than the end of October. If you’re unable to afford new boards, then October and November are the best times to go look for used boards at the local shops. As the pros come back in town for the contest season, they usually drop off their old boards at the shops, making for a good selection if you need to add a certain board to your quiver.

Most everyone who has stuck around here for the summer also needs to make sure they are in good shape. If you haven’t done much surfing in the summer, it can be hard to jump right into surfing big waves when the first swells arrive. Exercises that keep your arms, shoulders, and lungs strong will be best for preparing to surf the big waves of the North Shore.

Last, if you don’t live here, then you’d better start making your travel plans to get here. Waiting until the last minute can be expensive. Booking flights 2 to 3 months in advance is usually how you’ll find the cheapest flights to Oahu. I have been flying back and forth regularly and have learned this from experience. If you keep waiting for the prices to go down a little more once you’re into that 2-month region…good luck, cause they probably won’t.

For some good advice on traveling with surfboards, check out this post on The Surfing Blog:

http://www.thesurfingblog.com/surf-trips-handling-surfboard-fees