Waimea Bay Swell Window
Hawaii, USA · part of the Waimea Bay spot guide
- Swell window (from)
- 270°–20° (W–NNE)
- Best direction
- ~325° (NW)
- Period sweet spot
- 14–20 s
- Open-ocean height (Hs)
- 15–25 ft
- Resulting faces
- 15–45 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.
Waimea wants a giant long-period swell from the west-northwest through north, best around 310–340°, and the period must be long — 14 seconds and up, with the marquee days at 16 to 20. Direction matters because a well-aimed northwest swell fills the bay cleanly while an off-angle one loses its focus.
The numbers are read straight off the Waimea buoy, and the "only breaks big" threshold sits high: roughly 15 ft of significant height at long period is where the bay turns on, faces run to about 40 ft, and past about 22 ft it starts to close out entirely (the 1998 scenario). The Eddie green light is around 20 ft at 20 seconds, sustained rather than spiking. Buoy height is roughly doubled on the face.