On Thursday, December 11, 2008, the skies over Hawaii opened up and a biblical scale Kona storm literally drowned the islands, with Oahu’s north and west shoreline communities taking the brunt of the torrential rains. 2008 seemed to produce some very unusual weather patterns in the Pacific, particularly as it related to prevailing weather patterns and the winds.  Like a lot of surfers in Hawaii, I’m constantly monitoring internet wave models to track swell generating low pressure systems in the north and south pacific to see when, how big, and from what direction the waves will be hitting our reefs.  Equally important is checking local weather forecasts to see what near shore conditions such as tides and wind speed and direction would be doing when a swell finally did arrive.  And so, after years of deciphering these weather tracking tools, surfers have become amateur meteorologists out of necessity, and probably have a keener sense than most of seasonal weather patterns in Hawaii.

Personally, I can’t recall a year that featured more frequent, extended periods of Kona wind/storm cells within the last decade or so.  Remember all the heavy episodes of Vog we experienced in 2008?  The news media was calling them some of the thickest smog carpets on record and people with respiratory ailments went through hell. They were driven up the island chain by a procession SSE Kona winds.  There seemed to be more reports of other weird phenomena such as water spouts and actual land tornadoes in Hawaii (one legitimate twister having touched down in Kapolei City on 2/11).  The rains born of these recurring Kona episodes didn’t seem to be much of a problem until the month of December rolled around and dealt us the absolute calamity that took place on the 11th.

A perfectly formed, but muck-infused 10’ peak grinds off at a notorious offshore reef on Oahu’s North Shore.  Ordinarily, there’d be surfers and stand up paddlers all over this wave.  It was completely empty this day. Photo: Courtesy of HawaiianSwell.com

I found this narrative on the NOAA (National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration) site that tells the whole carnage filled story of the period; “Like November, the month of December 2008 began with relatively stable conditions and little rainfall across the state. However, a significant shift in the weather pattern over the north Pacific resulted in wet conditions across most of the Hawaiian Islands from 12/10 through the remainder of 2008. The first in a series of heavy rain events arrived in the form of a strong Kona low centered several hundred miles northwest of Kauai. The associated band of heavy showers and thunderstorms arrived over Kauai late on 12/10 and over Oahu early on 12/11. By 8 AM HST, 6-hour rainfall accumulations at several sites such as Makaha Stream, Schofield Barracks, and South Fork Kaukonahua Stream exceeded 10 inches. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, several streams in central and windward Oahu set new peak flow records during the storm. Flooding produced severe damage to homes, infrastructure, and farm lands with losses easily running into the millions of dollars.  A second round of serious flooding, triggered by a short wave trough, started during the night of 12/12 and ended during the evening of 12/13.”

Debris of every kind covers the sand.  A local paddler told me it had been a lot worse the day before, but an overnight high tide washed more than half of it back out to sea.  One can only imagine.

The incalculable volume of runoff that raged out of the Waialua rivermouth on Oahu’s North Shore buried reefs in a radiating 3x5 mile fan with a thick cloud of choking mud and detritus.  The ocean from Mokuleia to Papailoa became a dark blackish brown and stayed that way in varying shades of doom for over a month.  Beaches in Haleiwa, sandwiched between the Waialua River and Anahulu Stream “orifices” took the brunt of the discharge and nightmarish jumble of debris.  The sand was covered with tons of driftwood, live vegetation, milk crates, resin chairs, nail filled lumber, boating equipment, you name it.

On December 11th, 2009, the Anahulu Stream on Oahu’s North Shore swelled to record heights and its banks quickly overflowed, with epic volumes of muddy contaminated water dragging everything that wasn’t tied down out to sea at this opening.  The adjacent boat harbor was choked with a thick debris field that longtime locals said they had never before seen the likes of.

Now, you’d think that common sense would keep people out of the obviously filthy water right?  Ehhhhhnkk, wroooong!  I introduce to you, Surfers; a curious demographic that views common sense as a behavior to be exercised only when the waves are junk.  There were a few baboozes surfing on the 12th and 13th, and after another round of downpours and fudgy river spew the night of the 13th, the North Shore water was again at peak filth levels.  On the morning of the 14th, I pulled up at a favorite surf spot, ignorant of the water conditions.   The car park was less than a third full and I walked out to check the waves.  It was absolutely flawless; about 3’-6’ out of the west, brushed smooth by a soft SE offshore wind, and just peeling beautifully all the way down the reef without sectioning.  “Not a drop of water out of place,” as they say.  But … there was no one out, and as far as I could tell, no one present was getting ready to go out. The water was as muddy as muddy gets, the sky alternating between sunny and overcast, and all the regulars were on the beach talking story with their backs to the surf.  My immediate thought was maybe a shark was patrolling the beach, keeping everyone high and dry.  I really couldn’t figure it out until one of the guys yelled back to a friend who’d asked him why they weren’t in the water.  “Brah, I got planny good waves the past two days!,” he shot back, “and I figah mo’ bettah fo’ stop now, den get sick ah!” 

This hulking log was deposited on the rocks at the paddle out spot.  It was about 13’  long and a couple hundred pounds easy.  You wouldn’t want this bad boy clobbering you in the head as you paddled out.

That was music to my ears.   “… Right, I’m OUT THERE! …” I pledged to myself.  I hustled back to the car, suited up quickly, grabbed the board, and marched purposefully down to the water, alone.  I heard one of the guys on the beach see me and say, “Eh, dis guy goin’ out!”, which was accompanied by a few snickers from the accompanying peanut gallery.  I got to the water’s edge, and wondered out loud what the hell I was thinking.  The water looked pretty damn gross.  But I’d made my move and there was no turning back now.  I jumped in and stroked for the lineup.  The water was exceptionally cold in places, which is often a sign that fresh (and recently muddied) water is present.  The one encouraging early sign was that the water was odorless, and a local brown water mantra says that “if no stink, can surf.”  I made it outside without getting my hair wet and tried not to let water get in my face.  I’d also brought out with me a little 32ml. bottle of rewetting solution to flush out my eyes, nose, and ears between sets. Simply put, I had a magical two hour session.  I could really take my time and be selective, taking only the biggest and best waves without having to worry about shoulder hoppers or paddlers on the inside.  I’ve never had or seen the place empty for that long, especially in conditions that perfect.  I sustained a bloody open abrasion on my knee after eating it in a shallow spot on the inside reef, and went in immediately to end my session.  I’d ridden well over a dozen great waves already, so I’d had my fill for sure.

Across the channel, a muddy outer reef was in all-time form for about a week after the big deluge on the 11th.  Unfortunately, the Anahulu Stream empties directly into it, and it was the undisputed dirtiest spot on the entire North Shore. Photo: Courtesy of HawaiianSwell.com

I walked up the beach inwardly victorious (with a wry, impish glance towards a now approving peanut gallery), showered thoroughly, irrigated the eyes with more rewetting solution, swabbed my ears out, blew my nose, chucked the contact lenses, and headed home, where I took another good shower and scrubbed that knee abrasion until I was in tears.  I slathered it in antibiotic ointment and had a large fruit-C smoothie.  After awhile, with the adrenaline from my surf starting to wear off, I began coming to terms with how unwise it was for me, and any other surfers who took my lead, may have been to get in the water that day. 

An empty mid-morning lineup.  WHAAAT?!  Yeah it was way dirty, but I had to go for it.  I’ve done a lot of silly things over the years to get a few waves; so why stop now?  Moments like this are monumentally rare and I scored like a greased bandit!

Along with the fun words like Hepatitis and Leptospirosis, I had two related past experiences swirling around in my head before, during and after that particular surf; 1) I had once gotten really sick from surfing in North LA County.  It started with a terrible sore throat and then stomach flu-like symptoms and itchy eyes for days. The water was crystal clear, the waves were going off, and to my knowledge, there hadn’t been heavy rains for months in advance. I don’t think I’ll go back there.  2) Way back one morning on Oahu’s South Shore, I got to surf perfect  Ala Moana Bowls with only three other guys (who were beginners), because access to the area had been shut off completely.  Then-US President Bill Clinton was in town for an international trade conference in Waikiki.  He flew in to the Ala Wai Helipad on an Air Force chopper and no one was allowed in for a mile in each direction.  My three new buddies and I were the fortunate last few souls to get through the pre-dawn security barricades, and we got barreled off our nuts for a few hours without the usual murderous crowd present. 

Happy as a clam and alone in flawless, but pilau surf.  A simultaneously regrettable, and memorable session that won’t soon be forgotten.  Photo: Courtesy of HawaiianSwell.com

It wouldn’t be responsible to encourage or defend what I did, but I’m realistic enough to know that MANY surfers do and will continue to surf in dirty water.  This time I got damn lucky, and that boyish thrill of getting away with something in plain view felt pretty darn good, I must confess. I didn’t get sick, stole a few empty waves at one of my favorite places, and have another unique life experience to look back on.

Mahalo to Franco & Rocco Tromantano of HawaiianSwell for the great photos!