Surfers aren’t exactly flocking to the North Shore of Oahu this time of year. There are fewer bikes along Ke Nui Road than the winter months, while anybody who lives on the south side of the island is revving up for a great summer. But part of the beauty of living on Oahu is that you’re always within striking distance when an off-season swell swings through. And you don’t have to share it with the entire global population of professional surfers.
Eli Olson has lived with this ebb and flow since birth. His dad was a professional surfer who wanted to take full advantage of being on the North Shore so that’s where Eli was raised, all with a view of Waimea Bay right outside his door.
Waimea isn’t exactly going off anytime soon but Olson did just score some uncharacteristic northwest action without having to venture too far from home. First up was an early session at Haleiwa. And then came one of those sessions that makes Rocky Point go Rocky Point — a gaggle of really good, mostly homegrown surfers turning the North Shore’s most high-performance wave into a playground.
