Waimea Bay

Surf Guide

Even when it's almost flat, Waimea is a fascinating stretch of water. The famous bay, set almost exactly halfway along the main North Shore strip, is less than a half-mile across, with a clearly defined rock point at the northern end and a long, jumbled pile of lava boulders bending well out to sea to the southwest. It lies at the mouth of Waimea Falls valley, which regularly flushes into the bay through an occasionally man-made channel. Other than that, Waimea is one of the North Shore's most pleasant and popular family beaches, its allure undamaged by the fact that hundreds of years ago the heiau overlooking it from the northeast was the site of human sacrifices. Waimea's outer waters are very deep, and thus clear of any cloud-breaking reefs. This means that a lot of long-interval swell energy is drawn away from the Bay by the flanking outer reefs at Alligators and Log Cabins. This can make the place appear deceptively calm early in a big swell. As the interval drops and the swell fills in, Waimea becomes a massive washing machine, with water flooding down both sides of the Bay and trying to clamber out toward the west. By contrast to all this mad aquatic activity, the actual takeoff zone can be quite mellow between sets. Rideable waves first begin to break when the swell reaches the six-foot mark on a section known as Pinballs -- a lumpy reef almost parallel with the tip of the Bay's north point. In clean northwest swells with a light tradewind blowing, Pinballs can be a lot of fun, with even the occasional tube section showing. As the swell grows beyond the ten-foot mark, some waves begin to peak and break just inside a big boil 80 yards out past Pinballs, providing a drop, a fat shoulder and some reform shots further in. At 15 feet, waves will break on the shallower regions of the true Waimea takeoff area -- a relatively flat lava rock ledge, another 50 yards or so outside the boil, that lurches abruptly up from the outer deep. It's the sudden appearance of this ledge, magnifying the challenge of a late drop that gives big Waimea its characteristic semi-freefall takeoff. The ledge slopes off rapidly to the west, but maintains a slight ridge out toward the north, sometimes (particularly in a north-northwest swell) forming a takeoff spot further out; this is known as "Eddie's Peak", named after the late Bay charger and lifeguard Eddie Aikau. After a sometimes complex and super exhilarating drop, the rider is faced with a flat shoulder and a mountain of whitewater, which can sometimes be pursued into the Pinballs section for a couple of turns. Toward the beach, waves will back off and reform into an extremely powerful shore dump, growing thicker and bigger toward the western end and sometimes showcasing a hideously tempting left barrel. Getting in and out is done through the "keyhole", Waimea beach's northeast corner close to the rocks, where the shoredump is smallest. Under 15 feet it's a cruise; on bigger days it requires a little timing, especially if you don't want to look like a goose in front of the large crowds that gather along the nearby roadside during large swells. Trying to come in through the shore dump farther down is not recommended; several surfers (including Ken Bradshaw) have made the Bay Loop -- the process of heading right back out to sea and around again in order to nail the keyhole exit -- famous. Click here for Surfline's Waimea Bay Spot Check with Mark Healey