High Surf

[Kalalau]

Re: High Surf

The story I heard was that when waves were big and intimidating if you wanted somebody to go out with you you'd say, "Oh, they're not 20 ft., thats only about 10!" So we take it to extremes when the waves get truly gigantic, always call them 2 ft. Hawaiian.

[D'Alani]

Re: High Surf

Okay I can dig Kalalau's reasoning because if the surf was huge and we didn't want to go out we would say it was too monsta for surf and if was like less then 10 feet we say nah oney small we go out and rip. Like Ben Aipa's "fishtail" was a big thing and the Paul Strauch(?) crouch.

[Composite 2992]

Re: High Surf

I never thought the "measure from the back" idea made any sense at all.

A wave is a wave. With a crest and a trough. Measuring the wave from the trough to the crest, from the shore at which you're standing, is how big it is. Simple.

"Measuring from the back" is a dumb idea. At least I always thought so. What land-based observer is able to measure the back of a wave?

The problem is that as a wave enters shallower water, the crest height increases. So it's really a quandry: Measure the wave before it hits the shallows? Measure it at its peak in the break?

As for when someone's actually riding, it should be measured from trough to crest. Because that's how high it is, and that determines the potential energy and pressure that will get unloaded on you if you wipe out and the wave closes in over you.

BTW, TimKona... at least you walked away from it.

And you know the remedy for vana spines, right?

[Kalalau]

Re: High Surf

There are astounding videos on You Tube of huge surf at places like Mavericks, Todos Santos, Cortez Banks, Teahupoo, and Jaws. If you haven't seen them, go ahead and be amazed.

[Nords]

Re: High Surf

I never thought the "measure from the back" idea made any sense at all.
"Measuring from the back" is a dumb idea. At least I always thought so. What land-based observer is able to measure the back of a wave?

The version of the story I've read is that local lifeguards & big-wave surfers started Hawaii scale to discourage California surf bums from traveling here. Probably another Da Hui conspiracy.

Or it could just be that the surfers always measured from the back because they were paddling like heck to get outside before it broke.

Pat Caldwell has collected a lot of surf data over the years at:
http://ilikai.soest.hawaii.edu/HILO/surf_research.html

Here's a conversion chart (very busy graphics on a small data pipe; takes a while to load):
http://ilikai.soest.hawaii.edu/HILO/poster.pdf

And here's more than you probably ever wanted to know about Hawaii surf:
http://ilikai.soest.hawaii.edu/HILO/...iles/frame.htm