Something to Be Thankful for as Swell Lines Up for Thanksgiving

I don’t know what it is about Thanksgiving, but it seems like we always score a swell on this most grateful of holidays here in Hawaii. It appears that the tradition will continue this year, as the flat spell on the North Shore is forecasted to end on Thursday, November 25—just in time for all the turkey lovers out there.

While Oahu has been pretty quiet the past week—Town is practically flat and the North Shore has been in the longboard/foil range—that’s all about to change as Thanksgiving week fills in. A small, mid-period swell is due to hit Tuesday, followed by a slightly larger swell on Wednesday—maybe topping out in the four- to six-foot range. But the main event is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, when most people will be off work for the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Thursday morning should be in the six- to eight-foot+ range by sunrise, building to borderline XL by evening, when everyone will likely be surfed out and stuffing themselves with stuffing. The swell is then expected to peak overnight, somewhere in the 10-foot at 15-second range (a few 12- to 15-foot sets at midnight?!), followed by a slow decline Friday morning.

While this won’t be the XL+ swell that we saw a few weeks ago to kickstart the big wave season here in Hawaii, it should be enough to see some of the outer reefs just starting to feather. The wind will be the biggest factor, as forecasts are vacillating between light ESE trades and moderate ENE trades. Depending what happens, it could be anything from a typical windy Sunset/Pipe/Baby Waimea swell to a pristine event in which just about everywhere is eight-foot+ and epic. Either way, North Shore surfers will definitely have something to thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, Town is getting in on the celebration as well with a small, out-of-season SSW swell. It won’t be much—just 1 foot at 13 seconds—but after the flatness the South Shore has endured over the past week, we’re grateful for anything we can get. We’ll see you in the water! Happy Thanksgiving!!