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Spot: Ala Moana, HI
The Waves
The Mother of all tropical left reef breaks, Ala Moana is bent by nature and a bit of man into a left reef. The takeoff doesn’t pitch hollow, but the wave allows for a bottom-turn and then a pull in to a looping left barrel in the section known as “Bowls” if the swell is six feet or bigger. It’s a cakewalk if you know how.
Best Swell, Size and Direction
South swells from one foot to 10-plus. A couple of times a year Ala Moana goes berserko on a giant southern hemisphere swell, uprooting buoys, flipping catamarans and drawing surfers from all over the islands and all around the world.
Surrounding Spots
To the west, you cross Magic Island into Ala Moana Park where there is a big variety of reefbreaks: Tennis Courts, Big Rights and Kewalo Basin. All good waves on the right swell and tide and all work best on the same swell as Waikiki, though tide and local knowledge definitely comes into play here.
To the east, In Betweens, then Rockpile, then Kaisers then all of Waikiki awaits you. Click here for a surf map of Waikiki from www.downwindproductions.com
Difficulty Level
Easy under six feet, over six feet dealing with heavy crowds of good surfers, strong outgoing current in the channel, and abrupt, thick-lipped bowl sections comes into play.
Localism Factor
High, as in Hawaii. This is the most popular wave on the South Shore of Oahu, which makes it one of the most popular waves in Hawaii and the world. It is very very crowded with local surfers, longboarders, and bodyboarders who have hacked out their own pecking order over years and generations, and so to paddle into that Fresh Off the Plane and as a greenhorn haole is a cultural experience.
Behave yourself here. Know how to surf. Don’t drop in on people. Don’t bail your board in dumb places, and show groveling deference to the locals. As a haole, you won't win any arguments even if you are in the right, so don't start.
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