The North Shore was pumping with wind-blown waves on Thursday that were big enough to stage the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons surf contest — and to help realize the island fantasies of new Hawaii arrivals Air Force Staff Sgt. Joe Rucker and his wife, Dawn.

Staff Sgt. Rucker, 26, gaped at the power of Oahu’s winter waves for the first time as Dawn shot photos for her Facebook page for all of their East Coast friends to envy.

"It’s too good to be true," Joe Rucker said. "These are breathtaking views. We’re just in shock and awe to be living in Hawaii."

Lifeguards estimated Thursday’s waves at 10 to 15 feet, when measured from the back, Hawaii style. The National Weather Service estimated the faces of the waves at 16 to 22 feet, with occasional larger sets.

More monster waves are expected to hit the north and west shores of Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Niihau today, then start dropping through Saturday and Sunday.

A more modest northwest swell is expected to move in late Monday through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

HawaiiNewsNow Video: Dangerous waves pound N. Shore beaches

Thursday’s conditions were too windy for Kevin Conley of Kahuku to break out his board.

But the swell still held the tantalizing makings of a promising big-wave winter.

"We’re off to a good start already," Conley said.

North Shore beaches were filled with red warning flags, and traffic halted and crawled around the world-famous Banzai Pipeline with the Billabong Pipe Masters under way.

But Logan Lange, 15, of South Carolina ignored the warnings and just had to test his mettle — only to discover how unforgiving Hawaii’s waves can be.

When he tried to bodysurf, Lange said, "The first big wave came, and I got thrown back 20 feet."

Acting North Shore lifeguard Capt. John Hoogsteden said many veteran big-wave surfers apparently stayed away from Oahu’s west and north shores on Thursday.

"The surf is big but too blown out, making it too difficult to find the lineup," Hoog­steden said. "It’s definitely not for recreational surfers."

While the conditions made it hard for veteran big-wave riders to find clean sets, the pounding ocean drew gawkers who had never seen such a sight.

"We definitely don’t get waves like this back home," said Charles Beaugh, 55, a first-time visitor from Houston. "I love it."

And Thursday’s swell pulled Nashville, Tenn., visitor Michael Fletcher to Oahu’s North Shore from his hotel room in Waikiki.

As Fletcher tentatively picked his way toward the water’s edge with camera in hand, his wife of 31 years, Amanda Fletcher, said Michael was drawn to the power of Hawaii’s winter waves.

"This was the first thing my husband wanted to do in Hawaii: see the big waves," she said. "But he’s not going in. He knows better."