Makapuu / Hawaii / United States

Unlike its baby sister just down the road, this spot is only for the pros when it gets big. The scenery is fantastic, and quite frankly you can easily lose concentration just gazing at that as you ride the wave in.

This place is off is off to the east of Makapuu Beach, past the point where the sand turns into rocks. You have to get to the spot from the beach into the water then paddle round, as there is no way easy entry from the rocks and cliffs above the spot.

The swell here isn't too fussy about tide position or whether it is rising or falling, and is best when the wind is blowing from the north-west, west, or south-west and the swell is from the south-east, east, or north-east. It will start working at less than 1 m, and hold up to about 2.5 or 3 m. It breaks both right and left, and the waves are hollow and due to the narrow bay and the force of water coming in they are also very fast despite not being very big. Length is about average, maybe reaching 150 m on most days, but with the speed it will feel much shorter than that.

Lifeguards patrol the shore here, but you will have to wait until they are off duty to doing any stand-up surfing.

The current here can be very strong, and to be honest that's what gets most people in trouble.  Jellyfish occasionally blow in with the trade winds here too, so you'll need to keep an eye out for those.