Jul 7, 2021
Weekly Surfing Update (July 1- July 9 2021): Celebrated Fourth of July With a World Full of Swell
🎉Celebrated Fourth of July With a World Full of Swell🎉
As we celebrated Independence Day here in the US, the Southern Hemisphere celebrated with us, serving up pumping surf in numerous regions during the July 4 weekend.
📷 @keana.rivet
Things got started in Tahiti late last week, when Teahupoo turned on in a big way with one of the most hyped swells of the season. This one was forecasted weeks ago, and according to sources on the ground it ended up delivering the size we’d been expecting—although video has yet to start trickling out. And Teahupoo isn’t done, as a second and potentially even bigger swell is stacking up for the middle of the month as well.
Of course, whenever Teahupoo fires, Oahu gets swell a few days later, and that’s exactly what happened this holiday weekend. Long-period forerunners started filling in on the 4th, with the swell peaking on the 5th and still pumping on the 6th. This was the biggest south swell of the summer so far, with reports of 6-foot+ at swell magnets and Big Bowl turning on for a heavy crowd of Ala Moana regulars. We typically only get one or two swells this size each season, and the fact that it hit during a holiday weekend was a bonus for all the guys and girls who often have to miss swells for work.
At the same time that Town was turning on, Australia was also firing, with what locals are calling one of the best days at Kirra in years. Actually, the entire Gold Coast was firing, but most of the focus was on the stretch of sand between Snapper Rocks and Kirra, and the afternoon of July 4 was classic cylinders at the world’s favorite sand bar. Although Kirra isn’t as consistently good as it used to be before dredging created the Superbank and messed up the sand flow between the groynes, it still has its moments. And when it does turn on, we are quickly reminded why Kirra used to be on the world tour—and why it’s still one of the best waves on the planet.
As if pumping swell in Tahiti, Australia, and Hawaii weren’t enough, there was also a bomb swell for Central and South America this past weekend. To be honest, there have been half a dozen bomb swells for this region in the past two months, but to keep the Independence Day theme going, Puerto Escondido was absolutely firing on the 4th of July, with a bunch of local and international pros taking off on bombs and getting blown out of kegs. The fun isn’t over in Mexico, either, with yet another run of swell forecasted to hammer the Pacific coast over the next week.
📷 @harleyingleby
We aren’t exactly sure why everywhere on the planet decided to fire on the Fourth of July, but one thing’s for certain—this year, you obviously didn’t need fireworks to celebrate our country’s independence with a bang. And that’s a good thing, because while everyone on the coast was enjoying firing waves and idyllic water temps, large portions of the US were under a massive heat wave/drought, including fire bans that made fireworks largely illegal. So over the next week, while you bask in the afterglow of your recent score, keep those who were less fortunate this week in mind, and remember that we are all part of the same family, regardless of where we live, who we voted for, or whether we surf or not. Happy Fourth of July!
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