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November 9, 2009
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Surfline requires Flash Player 9 or higher.
Please download and install the latest version of Flash Player before continuing. WILD WEEKEND Big NW swell hits California; Maverick's sees first XXL swell of the year Some storms don't do exactly what you want 'em to. They crap out or move out of the swell window or end up being too small or not windy enough. Some storms, on the other hand, are textbook perfect for surfing. Case in point: this past weekend's XXL Season Opener at Maverick's -- and any other NW-facing breaks in the state. "Everything came together for this one," explained Surfline's Kevin Wallis. "Big, long-lasting, slow-moving storm with high sustained winds." To be more specific: "Big" means 500-1000 miles wide and 1500 miles long. "Long lasting" means it cranked away for almost 48 hours, last Wednesday and Thursday. "Slow-moving," means it was almost stationary for those 48 hours, allowing the swell to fully develop. And "high-sustained winds" means 35-55 knots. In other words: serious. If it weren't for the NW winds on Saturday, Mav's would have been epic. "The storm was centered deep in the Gulf of Alaska," Wallis continued. "But it was so big that its direction was from a wide range: from like 290-320 degrees, with the bulk of the energy clocking in around 300-310 for Northern California" This meant that NW-facing spots like Maverick's saw some 30-foot faces, while NW-facing spots in SoCal were pushing head high to a few feet overhead on Sunday. "Some people talk about how north swells are kinda 'soft' at Maverick's," explained last year's XXL paddle nominee Joao Macedo, who double-sessioned on Saturday and surfed on Sunday. "But this thing was heavy. There were five really, really big sets that steamrolled through and caught everyone inside." In case anyone wondered why the Maverick's Contest wasn't called on -- which is worth wondering, as the waiting period started November 1st -- the invited surfers unanimously voted not to have it due to the forecast onshore wind and all-day high tides. Since Jeff Clark is no longer contest director, the event will be called by a simple majority vote by the invited surfers. With an El Nino year upon us, this could indeed be the first of many big NW swells -- stay tuned. --Marcus Sanders |