An Early Start to Summer and June Wrap-Up
Hawaii Summer Surf Overview
Summer officially starts in June (on June 21, to be precise), so it’s no surprise that this month has been all about southern hemisphere swells. Things kicked off quickly, with swells all over the place—including Tahiti, Hawaii, Mexico, and Indonesia. Now that the spray has settled and we are moving into a quieter pattern for a couple of weeks, it’s a good time to sit back and reflect on what the start of summer brought in terms of surf action.
Tahiti Starts It Off: June Swell Recap
Teahupoo was on the pump during the first week of June, with a solid southern hemi swell and perfect conditions lighting up the world’s heaviest left-hand reef pass. It was just below tow size, which meant everyone was out there sending it as hard as possible—including local standouts Gilbert Teave, Eimeo Czermak, Tikanui Smith, and of course Matahi Drollet. By all accounts, Matahi was on a heater (no surprise there), and he later said it was just about as good as Teahupoo gets for paddling.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t an epic day for everyone. Itinerant hellman Tom Lowe was visiting for the swell, and it was his first session back at Teahupoo after almost dying there a year ago due to an impact with the reef. This time, he packed a barrel from too deep, got eaten by the foam ball, and suffered a multiple-wave hold down. When he was finally rescued, it took four rounds of CPR to revive him. The good news is that Tom is now safe and recovering. Here’s hoping that when he inevitably makes his way back out to Teahupoo again, the third time is a charm and he ends up scoring an insane one, with no mishaps!
Instagram: tomloweyo
Swell Makes Its Way to Hawaii
The same swell that lit up Tahiti made its way up to Hawaii three days later, where it was the most anticipated swell of the summer season thus far. While it ended up underperforming (compared to the hype, at least), it was still solid three to four foot for two full days, with a handful of sets hitting the double overhead range at the largest spots on the evening of Saturday, June 7. All of the regular suspects were out at Waikiki, Ala Moana, and the other various South Shore Spots, although Bowls was off limits due to the Local Motion Surf Into Summer Event.
For more on current surf conditions, check out Hawaii Surf Forecast.
Local Motion Surf Into Summer Scores Again
The Local Motion Surf Into Summer event has been on a heater the past few years, and always seems to score the first major swell of the season. The 2025 version was no different, with the event kicking off just as the biggest swell of the summer thus far filled in. After the amateur event finished up on Sunday, the final qualifying event for the World Surf League Longboard Tour ran on Monday and Tuesday, with both bragging rights and spots on the world tour up for grabs. Kai Sallas ended up winning the men’s final over fellow world tour competitors Kaniela Stewart, John Michael Van Hohenstein, as well as former world tour competitor Nelson Ahina III, who finished second and earned his way back on tour.
Instagram: @localmotionhawaii
Kelis Keleopaa won the women’s event, taking out fellow world tour competitors Sophia Culhane and Natalia Wunderlich, as well as former longboard world champion Summer Romero. While Sive Jarrard fell short of making the final, she ended up ranked first in the Hawaii/Tahiti Nui Regionals, which earned her a spot on the world tour.
Challenger Series Kicks Off at Newcastle
Speaking of qualifying for world tours, the first event of the Challenger Series was held at Newcastle, Australia, where solid swell lit up the local beach breaks and provided conditions that ranged from challenging to epic. While competitive stalwarts such as Josh Kerr and Sally Fitzgibbons flared up from time to time, it was Jacob Wilcox and Francisca Veselko who took out the wins—along with 10,000 points each and an early lead in the qualification race. Tahiti’s Kauli Vaast (reigning Olympic gold medalist) and Australia’s Fitzgibbons placed second in the men’s and women’s events, respectively.
The Challenger Series has six more events scheduled, including the Ballito Pro, Lexus US Open of Surfing (Huntington Beach), Ericeria Pro, Saquarema Pro, Pipeline Challenger, and another event at Newcastle to finish off the qualification season.
World Tour Descends on Lower Trestles
The biggest news of the month was the world tour event at Lower Trestles—stop number eight out of 11 for the 2025 season. The event was graced with clean, head-high+ swell over numerous days and saw some of the best high-performance surfing of the year thus far—as well as a wild card appearance by Kelly Slater. Event standouts included Jack Robinson, Griffin Colapinto, Cole Houshmand, Kanoa Igarashi, and Yago Dora, with Igarashi and Dora duking it out in the final.
The Brazilian aerialist came out on top after a dominant display on the lefts, earning Dora his second win of the season (which matches current yellow jersey holder Jordy Smith). Dora moved into second on the ratings after Smith, with Igarashi in third, Italo Ferreira in fourth, and Barron Mamiya in fifth. Unfortunately for Mamiya, he injured his knee in an early round at Trestles and had to pull out of the event. It is unknown how bad his injury is or how many events he might miss, but with Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson breathing down his neck for the final top five spot, you can be sure he’s hoping to be back in the jersey soon.
On the women’s side, Hawaiian upstart Betty Lou Sakura Johnson took out the win over Australia’s Molly Picklum. Gabriela Bryan from Hawaii narrowly held onto her yellow jersey, with reigning world champion Caitlin Simmons a few hundred points behind. Picklum held onto the third ranking, while Betty Lou moved up into fourth and Isabella Nichols dropped into fifth.
The world tour heads to Brazil next, where it will contest the OI Rio Pro from June 21-29. We will cover the results of that event in next month’s wrap-up, along with the world title race and updated top five situation. Remember, only the top five rated surfers on the men’s and women’s tours go to Fiji in October to fight for the title!
Shop New Arrivals at Hawaiian South Shore
If you’re inspired by Hawaii summer surf and want to upgrade your gear, check out our New Arrivals for the latest boards, fins, and surf accessories.
Happy solstice!
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