40-foot monster surf: Hawaii tourists find extreme adventure this week on famous North Shore

NORTH SHORE, Oahu, Hawaii – The North Shore on Oahu, Hawaii, is not only famous for being the home of this publication, eTurboNews, but more so for stunning scenery, beautiful beaches, nature, and the

NORTH SHORE, Oahu, Hawaii – The North Shore on Oahu, Hawaii, is not only famous for being the home of this publication, eTurboNews, but more so for stunning scenery, beautiful beaches, nature, and the best surfing spot on the planet. Tourists in Hawaii were looking forward to a great day watching the enormous surf on Oahuโ€™s famous North Shore today, but this day trip soon became a real adventure when high surf began washing over the roads.

Eddie may be on this Thursday. It will bring record tourists to the North Shore. Running the Eddie surf competition requires about 6 to 8 hours of consistent 40-foot surf (20 feet by Hawaiian measurements) during the day at Waimea Bay. Current forecasts call for warning-level surf to arrive Wednesday night and for the swell to peak Thursday morning.

The call to “go” will be made at the beach on Thursday morning, not before.

Eddie was a well-known Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. The words Makua Hanai in Eddie Aikau’s full name means feeding parent, an adoptive, nurturing, fostering parent, in the Hawaiian language. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved over 500 people and became famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf, winning several awards including the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship.

Today, waves from 35 to 55 feet high are crashing onto the shoreline and surging over the roads. Sections of Kamehameha Highway, which is the only road that goes along the North Shore in both directions has been closed. Debris is washing in, and the surge is so strong that people walking in the area can be knocked off their feet and pulled into the churning ocean.


The state Department of Transportation has closed off the road from Haleiwa to Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku โ€“ about a 5-mile stretch of beaches. The city Department of Parks and Recreation closed Haleiwa Alii Beach Park, Haleiwa Beach Park, Sunset Beach Park, Waimea Bay, and Keawaula Bay in the Kaena Point State Park Reserve.

Honolulu police have put up road blocks and will only allow emergency vehicles, public transportation including TheBus, and those that live in the area to proceed. High tide peaks in the afternoon, so it may be awhile before the road re-opens; even as long as into Tuesday.

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The high surf may also affect entrance into the harbors in the area as docks, piers, ramps, and boats could also be damaged.

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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