DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM High surf hit the North Shore yesterday, including at Waimea Bay, where surfers took to the waves. Swells estimated at 20 to 30 feet also brought out throngs of people watching the wave action from shore.

Wave warning
is downgraded, but
12-15 footers roll

The weather service predicts a
new swell will hit this weekend

---

By Lisa Asato and Nelson Daranciang
lasato@starbulletin.com ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

The National Weather Service downgraded the high surf warning for north and west shores to a high surf advisory at 8:30 this morning as the surf was expected to decline.

But waves of 12 to 15 feet were still hitting Oahu's North Shore this morning, said George Ku, Honolulu Fire Department Sunset Station Captain.

"Waimea Bay is lined with people and there's a bunch of people in the bay," he said.

Kaena Point State Park remained closed this morning because of high surf, and lifeguards were advising people at other beaches to stay off the beach and out of the water.

Jim Howe, operations chief of Honolulu's Ocean Safety Division said waves washed away natural damns on the beaches yesterday, making conditions more hazardous. "There's nothing to impede the wash of waves across the beaches, in many ways it's more dangerous for people wandering down to the beach today than it was yesterday," he said.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM A surfer was scanning the big waves at Waimea yesterday, looking for the other half of his broken surfboard.

Thousands swarmed to Oahu's North Shore yesterday to witness 20- to 30-foot winter swells, a spectacle that caused traffic backlogs from Haleiwa to Waimea Bay and beyond.

For those who made the trek, it was worth it.

"It's God's creation in its most radical form," said Roberta Bowman as she stood shoreside at Waimea with her husband, Gene, "How do you look at this and think it just happens? It's gorgeous."

Around noon at Waimea Bay yesterday, those actually surfing -- a group of about 20 or 30 -- were outnumbered by throngs of spectators.

"The biggest difficulty today was trying to convince people to stay away from the ocean -- not just the beach, but any area subject to high waves washing up." Howe said. He said there were some "very close calls" in which people walking along exposed rocks were "knocked down and scraped up pretty good, (but) fortunately, no one got sucked in."

Yesterday's waves peaked at about 21 feet and washed across the road in three areas: at Sunset Beach, Chun's Reef and Laniakea, and near Camp Erdman and Dillingham Airfield, Howe said.

Although the waves were highest on the North Shore, Howe said rescues were concentrated at Sandy Beach on the East Shore, where lifeguards made more than 30 rescues between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

He said the winter storm brought waves large enough to "wrap around the Sandy Beach area."

"It's the 6- to 10-foot surf that everybody can get out in, so that's where everybody went that wanted to surf today," he said.

At least one North Shore eatery was glad for the ripple effect that big waves bring. "It's always good for business," said Jim Bragau, a manager at Jameson's by the Sea in Haleiwa. "We always put extra people on when the surf's big."

Hawaii can expect another large swell on Sunday, said Sam Houston, National Weather Service surf forecaster.