Surfers around O'ahu scanned the horizon yesterday and saw the first big south swell of the season roll in with wave heights forecast at 5 to 8 feet.

"I'm itching to get out there," said Ken Lykes, a surf instructor at Hans Hedemann Surf School in Waikiki. "It will be nice."

The waves are forecast at advisory levels, which means high waves could produce rip currents and localized beach erosion, according to the National Weather Service. The advisory will be in effect until 6 p.m. tomorrow.

The swell will be decent all this week along O'ahu's south shores, according to the weather service. It will peak tonight but will be followed by a second swell tomorrow before slowly ebbing into the weekend, according to the forecast.

John Clark, former Hono- lulu Fire Department deputy chief and author of six books on beaches in Hawai'i, confirmed that the swells starting yesterday were the first big ones of the season. The south swells usually come as early as April and gain strength in May and June, Clark said.

"I was out there this morning," Clark said yesterday. "The waves were consistent overhead sets. That's good news for all the surfers on the island. It's definitely the first big swell of the summer surf."

City lifeguards had not reported any significant increase in rescues, said Bryan Cheplic, city Emergency Services spokesman.

"We staff accordingly," Cheplic said. "There's nothing different."

At Point Panic and Kewalo Basin yesterday, surfing fans stood with their cameras on tripods to capture the first big swell of the season — and hooted and hollered encouragement to their friends riding the waves. It didn't matter that they weren't in the water, all that mattered was catching a wave.

"This is a fun day," said Doug Palama. "This is my favorite break. I come here daily, if possible. It's the best break."

More than two dozen bodysurfers at Point Panic caught wave after wave, with some bodysurfers coming perilously close to the rocky shoreline. Across the channel, surfers rode waves long into the white water as waves of 2 to 3 feet pushed them along.

The crowd was bigger than normal yesterday, Palama said. That's because everyone had been waiting for the first big swell.

"Everyone's really hungry," Palama said. "That's why there's so many people out today."