When my buddy from Austin, TX called me because he had heard that "LA" was getting big surf, I new that the word was truly out. The news these days is something else. If you did not know Southern California has had three days of very solid Southwest swell. This swell has a long period, the number of seconds between peaks which also means a longer wavelength. Long period swells will amplify (sometimes drastically) at certain spots based on the bathymetry. One famous spot where this occurs is the Wedge in Newport Beach. Tragically a bodyboarder was swept onto the rocks of a nearby jetty and died. These are waves with consequences! I came out of the this swell in pretty good shape. Broke a fin on one of my boards, have a big slice in my butt cheek to show for it (didn't cut the wetsuit though), and a big bruise is filling in on my left arm. Pretty light damage considering the size of the waves and the size of the crowd where I surfed (Ventura County). Here is some eye candy from the swell.
amature video of the Wedge
Kelly Slater at Hurley US Open
Surfline article about bodyboarder
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