Talk:Hawaiian scale

Hm0

Using Hm0 in this context is a bit misleading as we are talking about individual breaking waves - Hm0 refers to a spectral average wave height of the sea state, so a swell will have a Hm0, while a single wave just has a height H. Could be changed to H, with a brief description at the start (H is trough to crest). DK Wave (talk) 11:13, 23 January 2023 (UTC)

The so called Hawaiian Scale was started by the Californian Surfers that fell in love with the North Shore in the early 1970's. The American Surfers made the North Sure thier home away from home. For the local Surfers it was a long drive to the North shore just to see if there was any Surf. So they asked the Californian Surfers if the could do a Surf report. The Americans said yes. What the locals didn't realise was the Americans were only saying the waves were half the height they really were. The would report a 12 foot wave as 6 foot, knowing the locals would not drive all that way for a 6 foot wave. This gave the Americans the waves to them selves. It worked very well for a long time. They knew they would get caught out at some stage and when they did they said we measure the back of the wave, knowing that most Surfers agree the back of a wave is approximately half the face. They said this only to save face, not for any other reason. When some of the locals worked out what was going on, they thought they would tell everyone what was going on. But when they went to the North Shore, they realised there was no one there, except them and the American Surfers. This was great because all the other locals weren't there. In the end they didn't tell anyone what was going on and kept the waves to themselves. When they were asked what the surf was like they said the same as what the Americans were saying. When they got caught out they said we were using the same system of measuring waves as the Americans did. After all everyone looked up to the American Surfers as they were the best Surfers. What was good for them should be good for everyone. So now even the locals looked like they were measuring the back of the waves.Of course no one was measuring the back of the waves, why would anyone measure the part of the wave you can't see to find out the part of the wave you can see. Even the Surf life Savers said they used the same system the Americans did because less people were going to the North Sure meaning they didn't have to risk their lives to save anyone. Because everyone seemed to be using the same system as the Americans said they were, it became the norm. Strangely when the Americans went home they didn't use this system at all. They only talk about the full face of a wave. Ask any Hawaiian surfer if they ever measured the back of a wave to work out how big the front of a wave was. Why would you when you can just look at the front of the wave from shore. You won't find one, because it is just not feasible and make no sense what so ever. That is how the so called " Hawaiian Method" came about, not from Hawaiians but from Americans. That's why the so called Hawaiian Method is only used on the North Shore, nowhere else. 1.125.17.233 (talk) 12:29, 19 December 2024 (UTC)