Waimea Bay is located in Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oʻahu in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

at the mouth of the Waimea River. Waimea Valley extends east of Waimea Bay. means "reddish water" in Hawaiian.

History

On February 27, 1779, Captain Charles Clerke, second in command during the

third voyage of James Cook James Cook's third and final voyage (12 July 1776 – 4 October 1780) was a British attempt to discover the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic ocean and the Pacific coast of North America. The attempt failed and Death of James Cook, Cook ...

, stopped briefly at Waimea Bay. Clerke had only 2 weeks earlier taken command of the expedition after Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay on February 14. Waimea Bay was the only O'ahu anchorage visited by the expedition. Waimea Valley was densely populated at the time, and the remains of Pu'u o Mahuka, an important heiau (Hawaiian temple), can still be seen above the bay.

Geography

Puʻu o Mahuka Heiau State Monument is a Native Hawaiian historical site located just above the bay, off Pupukea Road. It is a historically important site on the North Shore, as well as providing a view of Waimea Bay and the Waianae Mountain range. Waimea Bay is located along Kamehameha Highway. The bay is on the north-west side of the highway (at the entrance point). The Waimea Bay shoreline has been experiencing erosion due to both man-made and natural causes.

Surfing

In winter, Waimea and other North Shore locations such as

Pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

and Sunset Beach host several surfing contests because of the large waves found here. These waves are created by winter storms in the

North Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

and usually reach O'ahu's North Shore several days in advance. In summer, Waimea typically has clear and calm water. The surf break at Waimea Bay was significant in the development of

big wave surfing Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves that are at least 20 feet (6.2 m) high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. The size of the board needed to successfully surf these w ...

. Larger surf at the bay went unridden for years until November 7, 1957 when a handful of surfers finally paddled out and rode the giant waves that break off the northern point of the bay. While the surf only breaks big several times a year, Waimea was the most prestigious big wave surf break in the world for decades. With the advent of

tow-in surfing Tow-in surfing is a surfing technique which uses artificial assistance to allow the surfer to catch faster-moving waves than was traditionally possible when paddling by hand. Tow-in surfing was invented by surfers who wanted to catch big waves ...

, more and more big wave breaks have been discovered that are far superior in quality to Waimea. However, the bay still holds a significant place even in today's world of big wave surfing. The Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau takes place in Waimea Bay to honor the legendary surfer and the first lifeguard of the North Shore of Oahu. Since its inception in 1984, the tournament has only been held ten times, due to a precondition that open-ocean swells reach a minimum height of before the competition can be held. Open-ocean swells of this height generally translate to wave faces in the bay of to . The most recent tournament was in January 2023. On January 28, 1998, Hawaii issued its first ever "condition black" legally closing all North Shore beaches including Waimea Bay. The Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau was canceled due to above-average behemoth surf.PBS.org
Nature's condition black

In popular culture

The 1964 film '' Ride the Wild Surf'' and the

Jan and Dean Jan and Dean were an American rock music, rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf m ...

song "Ride the Wild Surf", which played at the end of the film and became a Top 20 National hit, made Waimea Bay famous. Waimea Bay was not the primary filming location for the television series '' Lost'', although some scenes may have been shot in the park in the valley. (The downed plane was at Mokuleia at the end of Dillingham airstrip almost to road's end at Kaena Point.) The actual main location and filming area was at Kawailoa Beach, about 1/2 mile north of Pueana Point. Waimea Bay is mentioned in the 1963 Beach Boys' song

Surfin' U.S.A. "Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's " Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics written by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The s ...

Waimea Bay is mentioned in the

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

song Beautiful Swimmers Waimea Bay is mentioned in the 1987 cult film Surf Nazis Must Die when Adolf asks a young gang member where the best surfing beaches are. There have been many other Hollywood movies such as "Ride the Wild Surf" and "Big Wednesday" filmed there, as well as many surf movies. Waimea Bay's shorebreak waves, and the large surf off the point have been the topic of many media documentaries and features

References

External links