fBHF – Beach Closed, North Shore, O’ahu
Beach closed, North Shore, O'ahu. fBHF on expired Ektachrome.
These are from the North Shore of O’ahu the day after the 2009 Eddie Aikau, an irregularly held surfing competition only held when the wave swells at Waimea Bay are over 20 ft. Greg Long rode a 40 ft wave to a perfect score, passing Kelly Slater to win. The following day, waves were easily still 20-30 feet high.
My wife & I had planned on exploring the North Shore in the morning, having an early lunch at Ted’s Bakery then shave ice at Matsumoto’s before heading back out to drive the Wai’anae coast.
It didn’t go exactly as planned.
Tasked with now entirely too much time on the North Shore, we tried to make the most of it. We drove the stretch from Waimea Bay to Turtle Bay and back, stopping at random beaches and whatever else struck our fancy for several hours; each time praying the police had finally reopened the road to Haleiwa and its delicious, delicious shave ice.
Long story, short: Matsumoto’s is worth the wait, the North Shore is both amazing & terrifying, and we never made it to the western-side of the island.
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Gallery: fBHF – O’ahu 2009