Oahu Kiting Downwinders
Downwinders are great fun and social events for good reason. You need to be prepared and go with a group or support crew. Be sure of your gear, and make sure you are a proficent kiter, and above all else be SAFE!
Kahala to Diamond Head
A great South Side downwinder, where you get surf a couple of hard to reach spots, and you advoid the difficult launch at Diamond head.
Best at hight tide and when the forecast is 15-25knts and ENE/E/ESE wind direction, and 2-4ft of south swell.
You start at Kahala beach park where there is the left hander surf break “Razors” , get a few waves here before heading down the coast to Blackpoint . There is not much in the way of waves in this first leg and the reef is pretty shallow so stay on the outside.
Once at Blackpoint there is the nice left hand break with decent channel in front of the Doris Day House, named “Mansion’s” This is the highlight of the trip so stay here and get some lefts under your belt.
After you have had your fill there are the normal waves you ride at the diamond head spot at the get out point.
Waimanalo to Kailua
Get a bit bored riding at Kailua? There is a great downwinder from the top of Waimanlo Beach back to Kailua. Conditions for it to fire are similar to Kailua, 15-25knt NE trades, and 3-5ft swell.
You can start at muliple location at Waimanlo, but the longest downwinder goes from Kaiona Beach Park, park on road setup juest west of beach park. The outer reef in front of Waimanlo has several area’s the offer fun waves so take your time and enjoy the first section. .
There is some dry when you get 1km from Moku Iti island, so stay on the outside of this. There is a nugget of a left hander wave right on the eastern side of Moku Iti. Its close in and your kite almost touches the island when drop in and bottom turn left away from the island!
Next is the Moku’s, you can either go outside them, which is choppy and rough, but sets you up for the Moku’s surf break on the western side of the island. Or you go inside of them into the are out from Lanikai beach. Please note the islands cast a large wind shadow, so pass downind of them by 1/3-1/2mile, otherwise you kite will just fall out of the sky.
From here on its just like kiting kailua.
Laie to Sunset Point
The MacDaddy of downwinders on Oahu! This one really is experts only, 16miles of Oahu’s wildest open ocean, a downwind run with multiple un-named surf spots and swell even in the middle of summer. This downwinder takes you around the rugged windswept northern point of Oahu, gets the blood pumping and legs turning to jelly. .
Really only a summer event as the swell gets to large and wild in winter, and wind is not as consistent.