Surfing in Hawaii
Let the first streaks of winter wind strike the lands and for the passionate surfers of the Hawaiian Islands it implies only one thing…surfing and more surfing! For each winter, Hawaii welcomes some of the world’s biggest and most awesome ocean waves on its north shores and the brave surfers are all set to take the giant waves on their strides! All the Hawaiian Islands get their share of gigantic swells during the periods of October to March, but Oahu’s wild North shore receives the largest and wildest of them all, making it the professional surfers’ paradise and serving some of the most enticing and spectacular surfing sights for the on-lookers.
Surfing at Hawaii- a historic background
The Polynesians had a historical reputation for being extremely efficient at wave surfing. But from ancient times till middle ages this adrenaline pumping sports was restricted among the Royalties; King Kamehameha himself was one of the top ranking surfers. In native Hawaiian language, the surfing was described as ‘he-e-nalu’ which can be translated as sliding on waves. However, it was during early 1900, that sea surfing started to gain its base among the common people and today not only the Hawaiians, brave wave riders from all over the globe flock in this garden aisle from November to March to negotiate the gigantic wave-- sometimes as tall as 20 feet! Even if you do not hope to make up with a surfing board, the Hawaiian beaches at this part of the year will bring before your eyes the dramatic struggle between waves and wave riders where in most of the cases it is the human spirit that prevails.
Aspects of surfing in Hawaii
The best part of Hawaii surfing is that: you can enjoy the surfing in Hawaii on a year round basis. Only in the winters you have to hit the North shores, and in summer you need to head straight for the South shores. The winter waves from November to March along the North shores are the result of storms in Alaska, which may be 5000 Km away, but Hawaii is the first land mass to receive the resulting waves.
Contrastingly, in summer, the south Pacific becomes the center of storms and these storms force the waves northward so that they hit the south shores of Hawaii. Thus from June to October, the south beaches are all prepared to welcome the surfers. However, waves are not as huge as the North shore waves; still the beaches like Waikiki in Oahu, or Poipu in Kauai offer the most favorable conditions for sea surfing.
While the pro-surfers will definitely prefer a winter surfing in Hawaii, for the newbie, summer is the best time to start with the surfing lessons. Waikiki beach is regarded as the ideal surfing base for the beginners and it is an all year round surfing center too.
The small town in Haleiwa in Oahu is ideal for traveling surfers, as the Haleiwa Beach Park comes with camping facilities and large number of surf board rentals. The protected bays at Kalapaki and Poipu beaches in the south east coast of Kauai are ideal for the beginners. However, if you want to get real thrill, then Kealia can be your perfect destination for accepting the challenges of rough and wild ocean waves.
So far as the Maui Island is concerned, it provides the most favorable surfing conditions at Hookipa beach on the North shore; this is the place where a number of world championships are held between March and May.
Surfing is an exhilarating sport that offers thrill both to the spectators as well as the wave riders themselves. It doesn’t matter if you do not take on to the surfboards, watching the brave- hearts at work will surely make adrenalins run high in your blood stream!