Sandy's Beach, HI

Located at Sandy Beach Park on the South side of Oahu; drive out of town east past Hanauma Bay and Koko Head. It is off the Kalaniana’ole HWY on the right. There you will find plenty of beach parking. This is a thick shore pound type wave reserved for experienced Bodyboarders and Bodysurfers. You have to have big balls to board surf this spot not to mention you run a high risk of breaking your surf board. When it is bigger there is a small outside spot that breaks though it is nothing special. Even at head high plus, the primary wave breaks right on the sandy shore – sometimes with little less than a foot of water under you. Sandy’s offers the shallowest and thickest barrels imaginable. Because it breaks right on the beach, the lip of the wave will pitch farther out giving you large sick, square barrels even in smaller surf. Though mostly close outs, occasionally it gets the perfect South swell in and with the right tide, the barrels will line up for some intense, longer shore pound rides. A very steep drop (you will air drop if you are a second late on the drop in) into a instant sucking tube that begins with a nice Hawaiian blue green room and quickly turns brown and muddled as the sand from the shallow bottom sucks up into the wave. Sandy’s is always crowded with locals so if the bottom does not injure you first, another Bodysurfer could inflict damage by running into you. The wave breaks left and right and there is always surf even on the smallest days. This is an expert only spot especially when it gets bigger. There is a danger of breaking your neck here so when you are getting drilled into the bottom keep your hands out in front to protect your head and neck. After a day at Sandy’s, you will be finding beach sand in places you did not think were possible. Do be cautious and stay away from the lava rocks that protect this little cove – especially on the Koko Head side of the cove. There are strong rip currents and sharp rocks if you venture away from the shore pound beach area. Though primarily a South swell break, there is always wind swell rolling into this spot so you can find waves here all year round in some capacity.


Wave Type: Shore Pound
Swell Direction: South
Bottom Terrain: Mostly sand and partial rock
Experience: Expert
photo: Bodyboarder unknown - photo courtesy of Aloha.com

A Sponge that needs no introduction....

I am a Bodyboarder, though many of my friends are board Surfers. Bodyboarding is a unique sport born out the early 1970s – It was Tom Morey who is famous for inventing the first “Boogie Board” and since then Bodyboarding has taken off over the years to become one of the most popular extreme water sports ever– always overshadowed by board Surfing, professional riders like “The Wizard”, Mike Stewart (pictured above) have brought pride and respect to the sport. Simply said, there are advanced moves like “Stalled Inverts” or the impressive “ARS” that can not be done on a surf board, thus the Bodyboard stands alone as an exciting and rewarding wave riding tool for all levels of experience. Bodyboarding or "Sponging" as Surfers may call it, is one of many forms of wave riding. The board consists of a small rectangular piece of hydrodynamic foam. The board can be shaped for different styles of riding and even the size of the rider. It is a versatile sport that can allow a person to ride the board on their stomach, in the drop knee position or even standing up like a traditional Surfer.

Whether through retrospective memory or from new adventures, I will catalog new surf breaks worthy of mention: A description of the wave, how to reach the location and any other information including photos when available will be added. On a monthly basis I will update this site and will also rely on my friends for their local knowledge of breaks beyond my sphere of influence. Hopefully, over the course of a few years, we will have established an information source for all wave riders and especially Bodyboarders.

Photo: Bodyboarder: Mike Stewart - Photo courtesy of coreactiv.com