A huge winter swell is expected to bring the biggest waves seen on north shores this season on Wednesday, but the waves will not be big enough or consistent enough to hold the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave contest.

Contest organizers decided Monday morning that the contest is a “no go.”

“Citing inconsistency and a lack of the minimum 40-foot wave face heights that the event requires for a full eight-hour day of competition, the event will wait this one out,” organizers said in a news release Monday.

National Weather Service forecasters expect to issue a high surf warning when the swell begins arriving late Tuesday night into Wednesday. North and west shores of most islands can expect waves of 30 to 40 feet, said Bob Burke, a meteorologist with the Honolulu office of the National Weather Service.

The swell is coming from a more westerly direction and could also bring advisory-level surf to south shores and west shores of the Big Island as it wraps around the islands, forecasters said.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the big wave contest named after famed North Shore lifeguard Eddie Aikau.

The one-day big wave event was last held on Oahu’s North Shore on Dec. 8, 2009, and has only been held a total of eight times in its history. It is only held when wave heights and surf conditions meet contest standards.

The holding period for the contest runs until the end of February.

“After assessing all available forecast sources, we are not seeing sufficient energy to run the event this week,” said Event Director Glen Moncata. “The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau requires a full eight hour day of waves with minimum 40-foot faces. What we are seeing simply does not meet the criteria. Yes, there will be some waves of that height in the latter half of the day, but not a full day of consistent surf. We will wait.”

The limiting factor to this swell episode appears to be a strong westerly component which results in Kauai island producing a shadowing effect for the North Shore of Oahu, reducing the size and consistency of the swell that will impact Waimea Bay, contest organizers said.

National Weather Service forecasters said the westerly component of the swell could bring waves to south shore reefs exposed to the west, Burke said.

South shore waves could reach the 8-foot advisory level and the Kona coast of the Big Island could see 10- to 15-foot wave faces, he said.

The swell is expected to peak Wednesday and Wednesday night with a slight downward trend on Thursday. A small reinforcement to the swell is expected Friday and Saturday for north and west shores.

“Also due to the new moon occurrence, tides will be running on the high side especially during the late night and early morning time frame causing higher than normal runup,” forecasters said.