Swellnet Dispatch It's Time To Go: Eddie

In: Swellnet Dispatch by Stu Nettle 8 Comments Fri 14th Jan '11

Tags: eddie aikau , george downing , hawaii , Quiksilver

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Except for an excellent Pipeline swell in November the first half of the 2010/11 Hawaiian season has been very underwhelming. So quiet has it been that the visiting pros only needed their step-up boards during the December contest season. In fact the only people that waxed their guns that month were the entrants and alternates of the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.

On December 3rd 2010 they gathered at Waimea Park for a paddle-out and to begin the wait for swell. On the weather front there was talk the Eddie may not happen this year as la Nina conditions combined with a badly-aligned jet stream to send swell either directly south toward Pohnpei (P-Pass has been breaking for a month!) or north toward Alaska.

Those conditions appear to be changing however, and a very large weather system is expected to move off the Kamchatka Peninsula next Monday. Once in the north-western Pacific it is forecast to deepen and remain stationary for 48 hours sending a major swell toward the Hawaiian Islands, arriving on the 20th or 21st January.

Contest director for the Eddie Aikau Invitational, George Downing, said of the low pressure system "Until it starts to organize we won't know exactly what we will see here in Hawaii. It's likely that this will be one of the biggest of the winter so far, but that might still only mean 15 feet. It's still a long way out, but we're on it."

So are we. Check back for more details.

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