P-Pass (Palikir) Swell Window

Pohnpei, Micronesia · part of the P-Pass (Palikir) spot guide

Swell window (from): 330°–90° (NNW–E)
Best direction: ~0° (N)
Period sweet spot: 13–18 s
Open-ocean height (Hs): 3–12 ft
Resulting faces: 3–12 ft

Open-ocean vs. the face: the heights on buoys and forecast models are significant wave height (Hs) in deep water. What you ride is the breaking face, which depends on period, direction and this break's bathymetry — that's why the two rows above differ. PierMonkey's spot ratings already do this conversion for you.

The window wraps through north — from northwest through north to east — so the swell must arrive from that arc; straight north is the optimum and it peels nicely on a north swell, while a west or southwest swell is the wrong window and it will not turn on. It wants long-period North Pacific groundswell, inferred at roughly 13-to-18 seconds, since longer period means more refraction into the pass and heavier barrels.

Because the pass amplifies the swell, the breaking face runs above the buoy’s open-ocean height — do not read them as equal. Read the alert threshold as the buoy’s incoming energy, not the face.

The storm corridor

Typical swell corridor to P-Pass (Palikir): North Pacific winter storms sending long-period groundswell that wraps into the pass — Typical swell corridor (schematic straight line): North Pacific winter storms sending long-period groundswell that wraps into the pass.