SAN DIEGO — Winter charged on day one Saturday, as a dangerous northwest swell raced across the Pacific and triggered high surf alerts from Hawaii to California.
The most urgent big-wave alert, a high surf warning, is in effect for parts of Hawaii, including surfing’s mecca, the North Shore, where waves of 50 feet are possible Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
The warnings are issued when waves pose a threat to life and property, the weather service says.
The same swell will start to impact the coast from Santa Barbara County in California to the U.S.-Mexico border Saturday night, with a high surf advisory — issued as an alert to stay out of the water — scheduled for 10 p.m. through early Wednesday, the weather service said. The biggest waves in Southern California could reach 13 feet and will likely be found in San Diego County, it said.
Big waves were also forecast for the West Coast up to the U.S.-Canada border, with the weather service in Seattle calling for waves as high as 30 feet and the office that covers Portland, Oregon, predicting waves as high as 33 feet.
The ocean energy inspired organizers of one of surfing’s premier competitions, The Eddie Big Wave Invitational, to give the event a tentative green light for Sunday at Waimea Bay on Oahu, with confirmation expected at first light that morning, contest director Liam McNamara said.
Speaking to NBC affiliate KHNL of Honolulu on Friday, McNamara said the swell has consistently produced bigger waves than forecast in recent days.
The conditions-dependent contest, which has run 10 times in 40 years, requires waves of at least 20 feet as measured Hawaiian-style, or from the back of the wave, which means wave faces can measure twice that.
“We are anticipating one of the biggest swells ever,” McNamara said Saturday on Facebook.
Kevin Wallis, director of forecasting at wave prediction service Surfline, said on its website Saturday that a satellite recently measured a wave at nearly 66 feet off Hawaii.
“That’s the largest satellite-verified wave height reading I can remember seeing in 25 years at Surfline,” he said.
Honolulu officials, who govern the island of Oahu, said serious preparations for the Eddie were underway, with traffic barricades and signs to be erected Saturday night and lifeguard stations scheduled for full staffing on Sunday.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi said at a news conference Friday that an unprecedented crowd of as many as 50,000 was expected on the beach to view the contest on Sunday.
“If you are not an experienced ocean-goer, you are strongly urged to stay away from the ocean and shorelines along the north and west-facing shores during this high surf period,” the city of Honolulu said in a statement.
Officials urged those who want to see the contest to stay home, watch it on television or online, or use public transportation and pay attention to lifeguards’ announcements as waves may breach traditional boundaries and pull people into the sea.
Kurt Lager, acting director of the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department, said waves washed into spectators at Waimea Bay during last year’s Eddie, and this could happen again but with greater reach on Sunday.
“We’re expecting that to happen again as the surf builds through the day,” he said at Friday’s news conference. “It could possibly be unprecedented how far the waves will wash into the park.”
The contest is named for the first North Shore lifeguard, Eddie Aikau, a big-wave surfer who lost his life at age 31 in 1978 as he participated in a voyage to prove Polynesian people could travel long distances, in this case from Hawaii to Tahiti, in traditional, double-hulled canoes called hōkūleʻa’s. Just hours out of port, Aikau volunteered to paddle several miles to nearby Lanai Island on his surfboard after the canoe took on water and overturned in stormy weather, according to the Associated Press. He was never seen again.
As a top big-wave surfer, lifesaver and champion of the indigenous culture that brought surfing to the world, Aikau’s memory is revered, with the mantra “Eddie would go” signifying his willingness to drop into the scariest waves but also to take on worthy challenges.
The contest drew properly sized waves last year and surprised the world when a lifeguard who was on-duty during the event, 27-year-old Luke Shepardson, beat out the world’s elite big wave surfers to take the men’s trophy.
Invitees this year include 11-time world champion Kelly Slater, as well as big-wave legends such as Mason Ho, Peter Mel and Ross Clarke-Jones.
Last year, women were invited for the first time. This year, big wave icon Keala Kennelly, top pro Justine Dupont and “queen of Pipeline” Moana Jones Wong are among those tapped.
McNamara on Friday told KHNL that Aikau’s brother, surfer Clyde Aikau, participated in the decision to hold the contest in Eddie’s memory on Sunday.
Lager, of Honolulu Ocean Safety, said winner Shepardson was invited to return to competition Sunday alongside three other Oahu lifeguards who made the field.
Surfline said the weekend’s big waves were being churned up by two winter storms in the North Pacific that spin counterclockwise as they send swell and rain in the direction of the U.S. West Coast. On the Surfline website, Wallis characterized the latest storm as “a beast.”
