“I’ve always lived by this mana’o, or thought: give all you can and only take what you need. I don’t need very much. I need my family to be safe. I feel I have more to give to people who don’t have the ability to articulate the needs they have, but I can recognize them.
Since the floods, I’ve been privileged to be put in a position to help our community. It feels like something akua, or God, put in front of me, and it was for me to answer or not. I’m here to answer and try my best to make sure everyone can get out of this how they need to.”— @joeyaloha_ .
Surfline would like to thank @jessehakua , @danielleighisme , @meanhawaii , @browncannoniii and @mahinadahui808 for assisting us in telling Joey’s story.
Do you know a surfer making a positive impact in your community? Tag them in the comments to contribute to Surfline’s Original Series, #WaveFaces.
The wind in the midst of storms usually blows in intervals, which we call gusts. The primary swell-producing component of wind is consistency. So the lower, sustained, most consistent end of the wind speed spectrum is what really generates the swell. But still, the more the wind gusts above that range, the more that energy is transferred into the water.
Once the swell leaves the storm-generating area, the swell energy bonds together and travels in groups of waves we call sets. The waves within the sets cycle together with other waves, which helps to conserve their energy over vast distances of ocean.
So how come some sets arrive every 15 minutes with only one or two waves, and other sets arrive every 5 minutes with 10 waves in each set?
One part of the answer goes back to the wind. Low pressure systems without a solid high pressure system filling behind in the low will result in very gusty, flukey winds. The winds may range between 20–50 knots but aren’t sustained enough to transfer enough energy into the water. As a result there may be some big waves, but the number of waves per set will be less, and the consistency of the sets will be less frequent.
On the other hand, strong high pressure following a storm creates stronger, more consistent sustained wind speeds which will not only result in a bigger swell, but also more waves per set and more consistent sets.
A second part of the answer is the length and “width” of the fetch, which will combine with the consistency of the sustained wind speeds to determine the number of waves per set as well as the consistency. Everybody knows fetch length is an important component, but the width of the fetch plays a huge role in the number of waves per set and the set consistency.
A third part of the answer is how centered the swell focus is on your spot. If a swell coming up from the Southern Hemisphere is centered on a region, this is where you’ll find the maximum energy, which is the maximum number of sets and the most waves per set. As you move away from that center, you get out on the edge of the swell. As a result you find less consistent sets and less waves per set.
Continued in comments
🎥 @mat5o
#surfology
TLDR: @noaa ’s monthly El Niño report is that we are still in ENSO-neutral. El Niño conditions expected in June and the chances for a full El Niño event are now near 100%.
Before you order a new step-up, it’s important to note that El Niño doesn’t make storms. It sets the table. A stronger event raises the odds of an altered storm track and intense storms, but it doesn’t guarantee them. It’s a climate driver, not a weather maker.
20 points for San Clemente. @kirrapink sinks her heels in on home soil.
The @usboardridersclubs is a contest where the best beach towns in the country battle it out for bragging rights.
Who’s your horse in this race?
🎥 @scboardridersclub
ANTARCTICA – DOMAIN ONE is the seventh documentary by @gauchosdelmar , winners of 71 international awards.
Narrated by 11 times surfing world champion @kellyslater and featuring renowned photographers and conservationists @mitty (Cristina Mittermeier) and @paulnicklen , the film follows a surfing expedition through the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands — one of the most vulnerable regions on Earth.
The documentary explores the urgent need to protect Domain One, an area threatened by climate change and concentrated krill fishing.
More than a film, this is an invitation to get involved and support the creation of the Domain 1 Marine Protected Area by signing the petition.
🎬 Watch the film for free.
Comment ANTA and we’ll send you the link.
And if the story resonates with you, help us by sharing it.
Every share helps more people discover this cause and brings us one step closer to protecting Domain One.
From the worksite to the world stage.
Most days @tombutland is on the tools. This week he’s lining up against the best surfers on the planet.
Go get em Tommy! 🤙👏
🎥 @supremechxrry@_thomas__smith@jeanpi_g
@kanoaigarashi ’s blade of choice for Manu Bay.
The pros are warming up in Raglan before the start of the @wsl Corona Cero Pro New Zealand. Live now on YouTube.
🎥 @jeanpi_g
A storm with a unique track sent waves and weather across South Africa. While SE swells aren’t atypical, the intensity of this swell last week was exceptional.
By definition, swell period is the time required for one complete wave length to pass a fixed point, and it is given in seconds. Nearly all the swell you’re likely to ever see surf from will range from 4 to 22 seconds, but for lots of spots that high end swell never happens. Usually the time is measured between two successive wave crests, but measuring from trough to trough would yield the same result. Swell period is a defining characteristic of a swell and as such it must be known in order to make accurate surf forecasts.
Swell period determines how fast a swell will propagate across the open ocean. The speed at which a swell travels through the sea is given in knots, or nautical miles per hour, (1 nautical mile equals 1.1508 statute miles), and it is calculated by multiplying the swell period by 1.5. So a swell with a period of 20 seconds will travel at 30 knots, while swell with a 10 second period travels at 15 knots. If you want to know how long it will be before waves from a distant storm reach your beach, you divide that distance by the swell speed, (swell period x 1.5). So if a storm that is 2,100 nautical miles away generates swell with a period of 14 seconds, that surf will show up at your shore in 2,100nm/(14 x 1.5)knots = 100 hours or 4 days and 4 hours. That is plenty of time to think up an excuse for why you won’t be at work/school then.
Winds on water make waves. The stronger the winds are and the longer their duration, the more momentum they transfer into the sea and the deeper that kinetic energy penetrates. Swell period is a measure of that acquired momentum and it determines how far a swell will be able to travel in the open ocean. Short-period swell, (11 seconds or less) will usually decay within a few hundred miles, while long-period swell, (above 14 seconds), is capable of far greater journeys. That’s why powerful groundswell generated in the Southern Ocean can wind up as waves nearly half a world away in the Alaskan Gulf.
Continued in comments
