This Friday morning’s surfing spot check brings us to La Jolla. The mixed SW swell’s angle gave Windansea a bit more size and shape than La Jolla Shores, but in both places the surfers seemed to be having a good time.
La Jolla Shores
Just before sunrise, the temp was warm, winds were calm, and it was a bit hazy and quite humid. As usual, click pictures for enlargements.
The fire must have been for atmosphere because it was warm outside!
The fireworks were held in La Jolla after all, and on Monday July 5 some southern hemi energy was producing decent swells for Windansea, although there were long breaks between sets so when a group of 3 or 5 waves finally did show up things got a little competitive. The weather was overcast and humid with just a hint of breeze that didn’t disturb the nice glassy conditions. Besides the surfers there were no people on the beach so the lifeguards didn’t have much to do besides rearrange equipment and adjust their sitting positions. Between 8am-10am anyway! There’s a short video below.
Today’s 9:30am visit to the SIO pier found good size but somewhat junky surf from yesterday’s winds. An onshore breeze was building which didn’t help matters much. Most sets were closed out, surfers had little to choose from between sets, and rides were very short. Click for enlargements.
This morning the waves in Imperial Beach were so-so. Sets were mostly waist high, maybe a shoulder high, almost fair form, nothing to prompt me to shoot video, so just a few stills. Gulls were dive-bombing for fish like crazy, but too far out to catch them on camera. Click for enlargements.
Tijuana slough
Tijuana slough - birds only
A few surfers were out at the end of Seacoast Dr...
...despite this sign
Mostly longboarders out at the pier
Rider on the north side of the pier
Nobody tried to shoot the pier though
He could have gotten more out of this one...maybe he's thinking he wants the wave behind him
Today was a calm, sunny morning in La Jolla, with just a handful of surfers sampling the waves. There was a moderate NW swell along with some energy from the south — the blend made for shifty peaks and double waves, but it was rideable. When I began shooting at around 7:30am, the tide was just ready to start coming in (low tide was about 6:40am) and there were waves to be had before things got swampy.
Tourmaline is a good place to take a break from the more vigorous surfing action at some of San Diego’s other popular spots. You see a good slow ride, sometimes in more ways than one. Today’s morning surfing session includes a group of kids and parents participating in the annual Alex Szekely Memorial Ikidarod, where teams of kids harnessed to a plastic container with a passenger compete in a race. This year, Tourmaline was the starting point for a race to the Mission Beach jetty, several miles down the coast. Ikidarod mimics the sled dog racing sport of Iditarod. Alex Szekely was a prominent local resident who died of melanoma at the age of 43 (a field at Torrey Pines Elementary School was named the Alex Szekely Family Memorial Sports Complex in 2003).
The early morning waves were fun too. Tourmaline is almost always good for a relaxed longboard session. I left out music this time, just the sights and sounds. And I know I’m posting this on Saturday…it takes time to edit a 3-hour shooting session down to under 10 minutes and get it uploaded to YouTube!
The Ocean Beach north jetty is, in my opinion, one of the more interesting breaks in the San Diego area. It definitely has its own peculiar character, although being at the mouth of the San Diego River, the shifting sandbar will cause the break to vary.
My other choice for most interesting would be Big Rock in La Jolla, with its reef creating a crazy, sucking takeoff and drop, then race to make the very hollow tube section, followed by a sweeping cutback to stay with the shoulder.
But at the OB jetty, when it’s breaking, you often get a long, hollow, fast-peeling tube that is a challenge to make (if only you could go 60 MPH) where even a smaller wave can throw a solid punch–if it hits you the right way it’ll knock you right off your board.
At the jetty often you’ll get just part of a long wave that breaks up into sections…which helps moderate the sometimes crowded situation because it allows 3 or 4 surfers to get a piece of the wave without infringing on the others’ space. Sometimes there are some jetty-specific peaks if you hang out right next to the rocks.
The downside of shooting video at the jetty is that it breaks so far out, especially at lower tides. My video camera has 20x optical zoom, but at maximum zoom it barely gets acceptable shots (I’m still looking for a relatively inexpensive HD camcorder with over 30x optical zoom AND a viewfinder, but so far there is no such thing, short of a $3,000+ professional camera).
A sunny calm Friday morning at the Shores with waves just the right size for bringing out a longboard and perfecting those noserides. Bonus romance at the end.
Waves are ankle high here, it’s a Friday Calm (the freeways weren’t that calm, though). I saw a couple of surfers and some kayakers, but didn’t see waves being ridden. There were signs up that Carlsbad Blvd. southbound would be closed for the next couple of months, starting near Palomar Airport Road. The Poseidon desalination plant will be built somewhere to the left of the power plant in the top left-hand picture. As always, pics are clickable for enlargements.
A calm morning at Tourmaline with a 7.4′ high tide (and kelp!) swamping the beach. As usual, you can spot at least a few longboarders out here even if waves are scarce. Click pics to enlarge.
GrokSurf's San Diego 