Onshore Storm Surf

For the second time this year, a large ocean swell has invaded our coast. This time, the gale force winds which generated the waves were immediately offshore and in very close proximity to the coastline. The result was an ocean going storm making itself at home right in our lap. Like a Great Dane snuggling down for a 12-hour nap and there's nothing you're going to do about it but enjoy. Good puppy!

The bay looked like an open ocean hurricane. The pier looked like a ghost ship who's bow was pointed directly into the maelstrom, already half sunk. The local surf spots were freak shows with waves breaking farther out to sea than anyone ever rides. They were folding over not because they were grounding out, but because they were breaking open ocean storm waves.

The California buoy read these waves at 6PM Saturday night at 30 feet at 17 seconds. The swell peaked here at noon showing 26 feet at 17 seconds, just in time for the 4.8 foot (not so) high tide. Along with the heavy duty dead debris tonnage driven to ramming speed in the mindless salt water assault to displace as much rip-rap as possible and batter down the cement barricades, tons of water was moving tons of sand down the coast and filling up every nook and cranny it could find. Sand enema anyone?

Once this storm blows through things are forecast to settle down fast. It may be too messy for there to be much surfable in the residuals of this blow. East of the dateline, storm winds are taking aim at Hawaii with only residual energy pointed at Cali so far.