How To Surf Rocky Point: North Shore Oahu

Rocky Point is one of the most high performance waves on the North Shore of Oahu. Stop by on any day that has swell on the North Shore and you’ll see Hawaii’s best locals and the world’s best surfers who are in town ripping this surf spot apart. It’s the place to go if you want to watch really good surfers pull off crazy airs and get deep tubes.

Rocky Point has a pretty intense crowd when its good, but it’s not just a place for pros and local rippers. If you have had experience surfing in Hawaii or at other fast reef breaks, then you should be able to handle Rocky Point if you put in the time to get some waves from the rest of the guys.

Rocky Point is located between Kammies and Gas Chambers. If you look in that region you will see a bunch of lava rock all over the beach with a big crowd surfing right in front of it. There are several beach access points in the region, and when you walk out of one of them Rocky Point will be pretty easy to spot. Parking out on Kamehameha Highway is usually your safest bet for your belongings. There is quite a bit of theft from vehicles parked on the inside streets.

There are two waves at Rockies: Rocky Lefts and Rocky Rights. They both have a tendency to shift around a bit over the shallow shelf that forms the break, so the takeoff zone can vary. Straight inside from the peak is a very shallow and sharp rock bottom that you want to avoid at all costs. To the south of Rocky Rights, it is also pretty shallow. You can walk on the reef and then make a dash to the line-up, but this usually isn’t the best option.

If you choose to do this, watch out for the random lefts from Gas Chambers and the occasional freak set at Turkey’s (the not-so-consistent break in between Gas Chambers and Rocky Rights). They will pound you right back to shore over a very shallow reef with some exposed knobs that stick out of the water. The best place to paddle out is in the channel a bit north of Rocky Lefts. The strong current on the inside runs north right off the shallow shelf, then as you get out a bit it shifts powerfully to the south. It will drag you right into the line-up with little effort.

When you fall at Rocky Point and get dragged into the inside, many times you’ll quickly notice that you’re going to have a really hard time breaking through the waves to get back out to the line-up. As mentioned earlier, there is usually a really strong current rushing north off the shallow inside. If you start paddling north, parallel to the beach you’ll see how fast the current takes you. Soon enough you’ll be in the channel and can safely get back out without much effort.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *