Honolua Bay Alert Guide

Hawaii, USA · part of the Honolua Bay spot guide

The Pauwela buoy (51205) is the nearest gauge, about 23 km away on the open north shore. It reads the raw swell before the island shadow, so it over-reads the Honolua face — treat a solid buoy signal as what’s needed just to wrap a rideable wave into the bay, and halve it in your head.

The forecaster's checklist

1. 1.Watch for a strong Aleutian or Gulf-of-Alaska low throwing a north-to-northwest swell that can wrap the Molokai and Lanai shadow into Maui’s northwest corner.
2. 2.Direction is everything — demand north-to-north-northwest (about 330–010°) at the Pauwela buoy; off-direction means a flat bay even when Oahu is firing.
3. 3.Read the shadow, not just the height: the buoy sits on the open north shore and over-reads what reaches Honolua, so mentally halve the number.
4. 4.Favor long period, 12 seconds and up and ideally 14 to 18.
5. 5.The tell is roughly 5-to-7-foot buoy height at 12 to 16 seconds from the north-northwest for classic overhead Honolua; cross-check for light wind, a southeast offshore or a pre-front Kona.

Local winds & tide

Best wind: E–SE offshore; the cliffs shelter the lineup and a pre-front Kona glasses it — from 90° to 160° (E–SSE).

Best around mid tide — very low over the shallow inside gets dangerous on sharp reef, and very high can go fat.

Dial it in