Giant Waves in Waikiki! | Historic Swell Slams Hawaii

The biggest south swell in 25 years came up from Tahiti and hit Hawaii on July 17, 2022. Ala Moana was closing out. You could see the 20 ft waves rolling in from the street! 😳 (RIP Coolio who passed away a couple months later)
How significant was it?
This is an excellent description from www.hawaiiansouthshore.com :
By Saturday evening, it was clear that this was no ordinary swell. Barbers Point buoy hit 6.5 feet at 21 seconds, Bowls was maxed out, Hawaii Kai was third reefing (but super windy), and reports from the Westside were all sorts of epic.
We knew that the swell was likely to peak overnight and early Sunday morning, but we didn’t know if it would get any bigger than it already was. But early on Sunday the buoys went apocalyptic-8.5 feet at 20 seconds, easily the biggest reading on the South Shore since at least 1995. The buoy at Bowls got blown away, Waikiki was huge lines of white water stacked to the horizon, a handful of guys were out at Castles trying to connect two-mile lines to Canoes (like Duke Kahanamoku did in 1917), and a number of the North Shore’s gnarliest chargers were surfing a legitimate 12- to 15-foot outer reef-within view of Honolulu!
It turns out “historic” was the perfect descriptor for this swell, which ended up lasting a full five days. There was small, background, 23-second-period swell on Friday, Saturday was bigger than anything in 20 years, Sunday was even bigger and legitimately XL, Monday was still six to eight foot and would have qualified as the biggest day of the summer pretty much any other year in the past decade, and Tuesday was still three to four foot! This was literally the biggest South Shore swell since Hawaiian South Shore opened, so I hope you all had a chance to get out there and catch some bombs. Enjoy the normal sized longboarding on the forecast, but pray for surf. Here's hoping it’s not another 25 years before we see waves like this again!
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[@hawaiifreespeechnews]

Big Like for the song choice!

[@barryshepard5792]

My stomping grounds back in the mid 60's to late 70's.

[@zanewright9686]

point panic was crazy that Surf Sunday

[@connorm3457]

Dats not Waikiki, it’s Ala Mo’s

[@zen-gg8fu]

wonder how kaisers , bomburas looked

[@starboardaft7421]

Alamo is in Waikiki

[@connorm3457]

@@starboardaft7421 no brah, Ala Moana is Ala Moana. Just outside Waikiki, sorta big difference 🤙

[@connorm3457]

@calldomdatallc7001 there’s no denying Ala Mo’s is waaay too crowded. But just gotta stay local with local knowledge, and set da record straight. Waikiki is a different district than Ala Moana. Completely understand your reference, in keeping things under wraps, as much as possible. 💪🤙

[@epicwaveshawaii]

@calldomdatallc7001 😉🤙🏽

[@jesseimpersonal]

On the biggest south swells surf spots that never break come to life in Waikiki. Some of the best waves I've ever had, South Shore, hurricane swell, 1992. That was a bad hurricane, of course, Iniki, turned at the last minute from O'ahu and took out Kauai. An ill wind, for sure.

[@FinnianWindler]

Queens was sooo fun!

[@MykeyG75]

Ala Moana

[@CampDavid54]

gang music and surfing, that tempo really brings out the zen and inner calm

[@laughteraddict1003]

Maalaea was all time

[@Lil_Stomachache]

And this is not from 5 days ago. This footage is old at best

[@MrGarthHardin]

Ala Mo bowl .. she goes .. what was Port Lock/China walls like ?

[@slowly6119]

eh ports doesn’t really break on these south swells sadly, you surf there often?? i’m there all the time!!!

[@slowly6119]

nvm i take that back code red II back in 2022 was crazy at chinas

[@MrGarthHardin]

@@slowly6119 Back in da day, I scored macking south swell with China Walls 10-12 + on a number of occasions over the years. Bummahs da macker south swells are rare !! As a kneeboarder, I rode BLAST Kneeboards made by Alan McCray on Sunset Pt at Backyards out Country. My big wave board wuz 6'3'' .. she went haaaaaandle !!

[@slowly6119]

@@MrGarthHardin haha sounds like some fun times. I don’t doubt i’ve only scored like that on 1 occasion and i had the wrong board out a old school 8’0 Pearson arrow longboard of all things. Do you still mosey on down to ports at all to check out the swells?

[@napili5470]

Wow I have never seen waves like that in Waikiki.

[@theman21030]

Hell yea Coolio

[@IkaikaArnado]

That's Bowls in Ala Moana not Waikiki.

[@joemeeker5211]

Not as big as June 1974!

[@jasonanderton2464]

Any surfer knows that's bowls

[@oldwave6106]

Ala Moana…

[@KuusFaddah_44]

If she not bombing 16- 18 Hawaiian then I don’t wanna hear it 😂😂😂😂 2007 was the swell to remember 💯🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽 where I learn to surf sponge dive 💯

[@WilsonMarky7]

Even better then 2022 code red?

[@KuusFaddah_44]

@@WilsonMarky7 you knw dat transplant 🤙🏽🤣💯

[@WilsonMarky7]

@@KuusFaddah_44 damn naturez, youz scurry

[@anneabeingpresence7642]

Yikes

[@jonahpaty4643]

Raw sewage central

[@Madbootdestruction]

Be sure to click MUTE! other than that, Awesome waves out at Waikiki.

[@dexterpadgitt2900]

choice of music. not for surfing