Surfers grabbed their boards and headed for the south shores yesterday as O'ahu's swell summer continued with waves of 6 feet or higher.

A high-surf advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m. today.

And it looks like there's another on the way.

The National Weather Service said the latest swell kicked up from a low pressure system off New Zealand about a week ago. Swells from the southern hemisphere stretch out before they arrive here, so the waves may diminish a bit in height though the swell may last longer, the weather service said.

Forecasters expect a new swell to show up late Thursday, with waves perhaps reaching 8 feet by Friday and Saturday.

Tamara Martinez of Pauoa took to the waves for her first time ever yesterday off Kewalo Basin.

Martinez, a librarian for public housing, is an athlete, a canoe paddler who will take part in the State Championship Regatta on Saturday in Hilo.

But it was a bit of a rough day yesterday.

"I broke my toenail, dinged my board and hurt my thumb," she said.

The broken toenail ruined her plans for a pedicure so she could look her best for the regatta. And the hurt thumb wasn't going to help her paddling skills any. "My coach is going to kill me," she said.

Nevertheless, she remained dauntless.

"The waves were breaking good," she said. "Everybody was catching waves, and I was trying to keep my balance. Trying to keep myself alive out there and not get trashed. I got my landmarks down. It was good. I'll be here for the next swell on Thursday."

It was a normal day for lifeguards, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city's emergency services department.

"No real problems," he said. "The waves weren't that big."

Seth Goodnight, a civil engineering graduate student at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, said of the waves: "Not huge. There was some fun stuff coming through and the winds were light enough, so it's been nice."

He's looking forward to the next swell.

"This summer has been very consistent," Goodnight said. "There's always been something to ride this summer."

Not only that, the trade winds are back and the week's forecasts call for highs in the upper 80s with an occasional 90, and low temperatures in the high 70s.