Just across the way from the famous Waimea Bay – where The Eddie big wave invitational happens – surfers ride a different kind of wave; a wave that’s on land and forms only after heavy rains bust through the mouth of Waimea River.
This standing wave is similar to the manmade ones at water parks, where surfers ride a stationary wave for hours if they wanted. The river’s located on the north shore of Oahu and flows from the back of the valley toward the bay. This phenomenon only happens a few times a year, when the river’s really gushing, leading surfers to ride the chocolate-colored river wave for days at a time. Oftentimes, they’ll have to dig out the sand near the river mouth to create the wave, but nonetheless, they’re having fun doing it.
Check out this video someone posted and how they shred the river wave with anything from a surfboard to a bodyboard:
VIDEO: Surfing Waimea River mouth on Oahu’s north shore.
Pretty cool, huh?
Although the Waimea River wave has become a popular pastime for locals, it’s not technically allowed by law. They’ll usually start digging once the lifeguards leave the beach park around sunset. The river surfers end up having a night surf sesh that’s definitely worth watching. This just goes to show that Hawaii surfers will do anything it takes to wet their gills.
