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Thanks to recent rains, the Waimea River had just a teeny, tiny bit of water in it. Enough to blowout into the ocean, creating the famous Waimea river wave….on steroids. Shannon Marie Quirk shared this quick video of the North Shore’s Mala’e Mcelheny taking a stab at riding the beast. From the looks of it, the young waterman didn’t quite have the correct equipment to match the wave, as his fins were definitely not holding.
Surfing the wave is one thing. With this much water dumping into the bay, dealing with the river behind it is a whole other ball game. Have a look at the rapids behind the standing wave.
Hawaii has been getting some seriously wet weather. The Big Island is currently under a winter storm warning at higher elevations. Stay tuned and we’ll try to find more extended footage of Waimea’s famous standing feature. This has to be the biggest it’s been in a minute.
