When it rains in Hawaii, it pours. It’s a warm, tropical rain, though, so it’s not too hard to enjoy those wet days. But if you’re lucky enough to live in the Waimea Valley, those heavy rains can be a little worrisome. The Waimea River fills up, as rivers in valleys tend to do, and all that water builds up in the lagoon fronting Waimea Bay. You’ve seen, we’re sure, clips of people like Jamie O’Brien digging a trench to release some of that water and create a wave, but when it gets full enough, the state brings out the big guns.
An excavator walked its way down the famous beach to dig the trench this time. It’s an effort to save the houses in the back of the valley from flooding, but if you’re Jamie O’Brien, it means something else: a massive Waimea River wave. Which is exactly what he got.
