Swell Update – SSW’er filling in

While most of our Thursday morning surf is still leftover SW swell (190-210 from a swell that started to fill in on Tuesday)...the new SSW’er (180-200) is beginning to show in the background. Check out the Oceanside Buoy.



There are definitely some fun waves out there at the S-facing areas...the points and reefs are starting to get pretty fun looking (though the tide is starting to bog it down.) Beach breaks aren’t bad either...a few walls but still broken up enough to hit a section or two.

Check out the live feed from the US Open when you get a chance...it is nice to get a good (free) view of the beach over the interweb.

http://www.usopenofsurfing.com/LIVE.htm

Anyway that swell will be building throughout the day...look for the peak of the swell to hit Friday and Saturday.

You can also go back and read my forecast for this swell, as well as some notes on where to expect the best shape as it peaks.

http://socalforecast.blogspot.com/2009/07/swell-alert-solid-ssw-swell-for-end-of.html

Monday’s Junk – Looking a bit nasty out there

So the storm that was supposed to arrive over the weekend just got here…and it is pretty ugly out there for most spots. (Naturally I was traveling all weekend and didn’t get a chance to update the forecast when the storm stalled…sounds like there were some fun waves while the winds held down. anyway…).

I was actually looking at the METOC/COAMPS wind analysis and noticed a couple of funky spots out there right now…that are sort of showing winds that aren’t totally blowing conditions out…so I looked a few of the surf cams and there are a couple of areas with semi-legit conditions. Granted the weather is pretty lame…but shape isn’t totally torn to shreds and there is a bit more size thanks to the building windswell.

Check out the map…



You can see that the South Bay, parts of Ventura, and possibly parts of central San Diego (La Jolla in particular)…may be semi manageable. Out of all the cams the conditions in the South Bay look the best, but the surf shape isn’t anything stellar…just the usual lumpy, bumpy peaks that you get with storm swell.

Anyway I just wanted to throw that out there…if you like storm swell, don’t mind the rain and the likelihood of toxic-waste, shopping carts, and raw sewage in the lineup you might be able to pick off a few if you are in the right area. Naturally don’t waste a lot of time driving to these spots but if you are close by it might be worth a look.

I will be back with the forecast for Tuesday later tonight.

Random afternoon update - Fun swell mix

During lunch I had a chance to catch a few waves at one of the fun S swell spots, a local beach break here in North OC. We actually ended up paddling out around 11am or so and it seemed like the swell mix, the weather, and the tides all seemed to come together just right.

The wind is starting to get to it now but there were definitely some fun peaky waves rolling through. It was mostly S lines but with enough punchy windswell pushing through that it was breaking it up...and setting up a few ripable rights. Sizewise it was hovering around chest-shoulder high on most of the sets...but occasionally there were some head high (almost overhead) peaks that would roll through. It was pretty damn fun thanks to the big sandbar.

It looks like OC and North San Diego are the best call right now...they are just getting the lions-share of the swell energy...North LA is seeing a few fun waves at the point breaks as well.

Expect it to be pretty bumpy if you paddle out in the next few hours but keep an eye on it later this evening...there is a good sized marine layer (semi-fog bank) holding off the coast...it may move in and damp down the winds as we head towards sundown.

Random Surf Update – Lots of SW swell out there

Hey gang!

The S-SW swell is showing pretty good here in OC…I just got out of the water after my lunch surf and there were some easy overhead sets.

There is a bit of wind on it but for the most part there is enough swell to keep it from getting too chewed up. I was surfing one of the local HB beach breaks and it was pretty fun…racy, hollow, with some decent shoulders for schwacking once you moved off the peak.

if you are close enough to get some it is definitely worth a quick check but try and pick a spot like a point, reef, or good sandbar…they seem to have the best shape right now.

Hopefully the wind will stay down for this afternoon…(I wouldn’t hold your breath though)