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FINALLY!
Solid south swell booms into SoCal
OK, if you happen to live in Southern California, wipe the saltwater crust off your face and stop grinning already. We know you're stoked. (Hell, we know East Coasters are stoked after Hurricane Irene's run of surf last week, and SoCal was way about overdue for some kind of something.)
Last week, Sean Collins explained SoCal's dismal summer thusly: "Dominant high pressure in the Southern Hemisphere has continued to prevent the storm track Down Under from getting a good aim on California, and most of the swells have been directed toward South America. I think we had one decent swell in each month of May, June and another in July, but overall extremely poor results from the Southern Hemisphere this year."
But things, obviously, if you look over at the pictures or pick the sand out of your ears, things are looking up.
Collins continued, "As far as cycles go, things should change pretty quick as these high pressure-blocking scenarios only usually last a few months, and we are due for a change which can only be for the better. Hopefully late summer and fall will pump!"
Indeed. And that change came in the form of a good-sized low with consistent 40-knot-plus winds that was centered off the south end of South America for four days at the end of the first week in August. "Storms off the southern tip of South America tend to stay in one place for a while, which is why this one was so good," explained Surfline forecaster Chris Borg. "New Zealand storms, which are more typical swell-producers for SoCal, tend to move around."
It kicked up some solid, long-period Southern Hemisphere swell for Southern California, which hit on August 17th and 18th, and is dying off through Saturday. (Much to the chagrin of weekend warriors everywhere.)
Due to the steep south angle of the swell, many spots were pretty walled early on, especially beachbreaks like Oceanside and Huntington. Not that anyone was super bummed, especially after such a dismal summer.
"I surfed Oceanside on Wednesday morning, and it was kinda closing out but still pretty fun," remarked young East Coaster-turned-SoCal-pro Matt Beacham. "Then did the noon to four shift at Lowers, and it was kinda big and rippy and fairly easy to get waves. Then Machado paddled out and put on a 30-minute clinic in the inside lefts. It was great to see that."
And while a well-called south swell in the middle of summertime is going to guarantee crowds pretty much everywhere, Beacham found a little escape in the middle of Orange County. "I went back to Lowers at 11:15PM on Thursday night," he explained. "It was amazing: the moon was full, and bright enough to cast shadows, the water was all phosphorescent with red tide and the surf was overhead and fun."
Not everyone resorted to nocturnal missions, though. Damien Hobgood was spotted surfing a North County San Diego sandbar along with a few dozen of his closest pals. Salt Creek saw 60-plus locals bumping rails at dawn on Wednesday. The Wedge was boogie-mania, with sponges being hucked all over the place for death and glory. Newport Beach had a few stellar moments if you could fight the current. Surfline ad guy Marc Beaty got the longest wave he's ever gotten at an unnamed sandbar in Newport, while locals Geoff Moysa and Ronnie Nelson got some serious shack time as well.
Good old Huntington Beach was left walls from here to Point Conception with a current to match, as usual, but some stellar moments were had in Surf City as well. Malibu was going off all swell and was well documented by stellar lensman Aaron Chang for an upcoming Surfline feature -- stay tuned. The swell filled into just about every south-facing nook and cranny from Chile to Canada, and surfers from Punta Lobos to Pleasure Point and beyond are just getting warmed up.
Wedge local and Billabong XXL organizer Bill Sharp -- who scored a few solid ones himself on Thursday -- summed it up: "Today, most of us are
walking around with that crusty stoke shine." He smiled. "It's a joy to surf again."
Check out the LOLA Archive to see what conditions lit up your spot. And stay tuned for some cool slideshows from this swell.
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Marcus Sanders
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