Happens every year around this time. The surf world’s collective attention has been wandering all over the globe for the past six months, from Nazare to Namibia, Teahupoo to Tavarua. Never know where a special session or swell could pop up. But every winter, without fail, the North Pacific wakes up and sends a solid shot to the Hawaiian Islands — and the rest of the surfing universe is quickly forgotten.

And rightly so. From Jaws to Waimea, Pipeline to the Outer Reefs, there’s nowhere on earth with more perfect big surf — in a condensed area — than Hawaii. And while this is a boon for the 2% of folks who actually surf pro contests — congrats Billy, Keala, Carissa and Steph — there was more than enough non-WSL action happening over the past few days to keep everyone else fully occupied, as you’ll see below.

And the swell? Surfline’s Kevin Wallis explains: “The northwest Pacific really sprung to life in the penultimate week of November with a series of storms that eventually morphed into a massive complex low pressure system that plowed across the North Pacific. The first of two new swells filled in through the day on Sunday the 25th, with pumping surf by the afternoon. The westerly swell direction, swell period and light wind were just about perfect for Pipe, which easily saw the best day of surf since the October swell (and arguably the best day of the year to date).”

“That was just a warm up swell for what was to come on Monday, however,” Wallis continues. “This swell was the result of the largest and strongest storm of the bunch developing the day after Thanksgiving, taking advantage of an already excited sea state from the previous storms as well as a captured fetch for 24-48 hours (when the strongest wind remains over the strongest developing seas). Satellites confirmed seas of 50 feet 1800 miles from Hawaii, which was more than enough to set up the largest swell of the year. Trades, while on the rise from Sunday, were still relatively light for Oahu, which set up great conditions at the spots that could handle the swell.”

“We knew it was going to be a massive swell for a while so we had lots of time to overthink and create the anxiety build up,” said longtime North Shore charger Eli Olson. “But it was one of the biggest swells I think I’ve ever seen in my life. Watching waves wash over the road at all these different spots was a rare thing to see — I think the king tides played a role in that. But I was planning on going to Jaws for a week, and planned on surfing before and after the comp. But then last minute, I decided to stay home and really search for the best spot — and I ended up getting the biggest paddle wave of my life and there wasn’t a single other surfer with me. Just me and John John doing water safety. It was one of the scariest/most memorable sessions of my life and I’ll take it to the grave.” Vid: Nick Green

Swell Signature

Storm Location and Movement: Northwest Pacific complex low pressure system tracked toward Hawaii November 23-25

Storm Wind: Large are of 40-50 knot wind

Storm Seas: Satellite confirmed seas of 45-50 feet around 1800 miles from Hawaii

Swell Travel Time: 2-3 days

Swell Size, Direction and Period: 21 feet at 18 seconds from the NW (315 degrees) on the NW Hawaii buoy

“When that wave started to come in, I kinda had to go because the waves behind it were huge, closeout sets,” said Barron Mamiya. “So when I was paddling for it, I didn’t really know if it was a good one or not — but when I bottom turned, I realized that the wave was really good. So I did a few pumps and it spit and I couldn’t see anything. And then I just kinda opened my eyes and I was coming out [laughs] — I was pretty stoked that I made it.” Video: Jose Plaza

View: Live Waimea Cam

Last year’s O’Neill Wave of the Winter winner Nathan Florence was quick to put his hand back in the ring this year, with this Pipe dredger — the next day, he was off to the Jaws Challenge. Click play below to hear Nathan tell the story. Vid: Sam Moody