Ahh… Waimea Bay. Rarely do you hear of the North Shore and not also hear of this iconic beach. It became famous in the 1950’s as big wave riders like Greg Knoll travelled to Hawaii to surf the big-waves of the North Shore. Waimea was the big-time for them… and boom big wave surfing was born. Waimea Bay has kept its reputation and is still one of the largest and well known paddle-in big wave surf spots in the world. With storms crossing the Pacific and slamming into Oahu, waves can get as big as 50 ft. It’s host the legendary Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational every year, however the contest is only held when it gets 30 ft or bigger. Sometimes it is years before Waimea gets that big, but when it does man it is some spectacle.
O But thats not all…
Besides the massive surf and legendary history Waimea has a lot more to it. When the surf is flat Waimea has a jumping rock cleverly named “Jump Rock”. Great name, I mean its what you are suppose to do on it… or off of it rather. Reaching about 20 ft at the highest point and about 5 ft at its lowest, anyone can enjoy it and jump at their own comfort zone. Be sure to jump though, growing up as kids it is said to be bad luck to climb back down. DunDunDun.
Another thing to do when the surf is flat… make surf. Cause God forbid us NOT to surf for more than a week. Plus its just awesome. My words would not suffice, so check out this video and you will see what I am talking about.
Waimea is a beautiful and sacred place to us here in Hawaii and we are lucky here at Backpackers to have it so close to us. Aloha!
