Posted by George J Janczyn on January 8, 2010
This week I took a short drive up the coast to Grandview St. in Leucadia to see if the predicted WNW swell was coming in. The main swell isn’t due until tomorrow, so it was a bit early for bigger waves though it did seem like something was brewing. The tide was going out so that dampened the waves a bit, but it was a good day for longboarding and for walking along the beach discalced.
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Posted in Friday spot check, Surfing, Videos | Tagged: Encinitas, Grandview, Leucadia | Leave a Comment »
Posted by George J Janczyn on January 1, 2010
It was a pleasant New Year’s Day for the morning patrol at Ocean Beach. I started shooting at about 8:30am between the little jetties. There was one unfortunate kick-out contact at about 4:09 after which a few words were exchanged, but everyone seemed mellow and happy to be catching waves.
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Posted in Friday spot check, Surfing, Videos | Tagged: Ocean Beach | 1 Comment »
Posted by George J Janczyn on December 18, 2009
For this Friday’s morning visit I selected Del Mar at the foot of Del Mar Heights Road. The sets were mostly about waist high with a few shoulder-highs. Fair form. The waves are forecast to stick around until tomorrow and then back off for awhile.
Instead of using my camcorder, I’m seeing how well the Nikon D5000 camera does with video (also used for the still shot above). My zoom only goes to 200mm and I was some distance from the action so nothing as close as I can get with the camcorder. Editing the video I played a bit with titles and transitions and used a music track licensed under Creative Commons. From this experience I’d say the camera’s video is weak if you use high zoom and pan to follow moving objects; even with a tripod it’s shaky and jerky. Any good video on this camera probably will need to use little or no zoom, tripod only, and very little panning. It also didn’t perform well on the contrasty opening scene…the ocean on the left is completely washed out. Still, because it’s HD (720p), it’s acceptable in full-screen mode (you should also click the HD button if you go full-screen).
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Posted by George J Janczyn on December 10, 2009
After yesterday’s session at Big Rock I thought the waves might still be pumping so I decided to visit Swami’s this a.m. rather than wait until Friday (this takes the place of Friday’s Spot Check). The swell wasn’t quite as big as yesterday but it looked like fun, at least most of the time–even at 7am there were around 50 people out and some of the waves were quite crowded. It always is at Swami’s. There were a few close calls and in one case someone’s loose board got run over and it looks like it probably suffered a slicing gash from the rider’s fin. All in all, though, it was a nice morning.
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Posted by George J Janczyn on December 4, 2009
A sunny cool 48 degree morning. With luck this is the weekend before the real rains begin. Not many ridable waves because of the high tide. For some reason I always seem to find high tides on my Friday checks.
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Posted in Friday spot check, Surfing, Videos | Tagged: Windansea | Leave a Comment »
Posted by George J Janczyn on November 27, 2009
On this Black Friday I’m just shopping for waves at the cliffs. The top of Hill Street gives a nice view to the east and west, so I grabbed a few early morning shots before hitting the cliffs. There was a cold stiff offshore breeze which gave the surfers a little trouble catching waves but the wind died down after the sun came up. The swell was building; marine reports say the size should hold through Saturday.
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Posted in Friday spot check, Surfing, Videos | Tagged: Sunset Cliffs | 1 Comment »
Posted by George J Janczyn on November 20, 2009
It was a chilly 50 degrees as the sun came up at the shores. High tide, sets mostly waist/shoulder, with a few head highs. Nearby, a crew prepared to serve lunch, refreshments, and medical assistance for participants in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure 3 Day Walk for breast cancer. They began at Del Mar and will have lunch here, ultimately will end up downtown at Petco Park.
The waves were a little larger towards Scripps Pier; that’s where I shot the video. Pics can be enlarged by clicking.
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Posted in Friday spot check, Surfing, Videos | Tagged: La Jolla Shores | Leave a Comment »
Posted by George J Janczyn on November 13, 2009
I have a load of pictures for you this Friday. Arrived about 7:15am. Cloudy, high tide, choppy windswell knee-to-waist high, onshore breeze from the southwest. Good for kayaking, but a couple of longboards out too. Forecast says the swell should build into tomorrow. Also grabbed a few shots from Pipes, about 1/2 mile south of Swami’s at San Elijo (starts at the picture with the ramp). About the last picture: when I parked my Jeep, I was the only car on the whole street. When I came back, I found two cars boxing me in, even though the street was still empty. The car in front even ignored the red zone for handicapped access. Maybe my GOT SURF? bumper sticker and UCSD parking permit in the windshield didn’t qualify me as a local? Coincidentally, speaking of locals, the Reader just came out with a Swami’s locals-only story. Click photos to enlarge.
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Posted in Friday spot check, Surfing | Tagged: Swami's | 1 Comment »
Posted by George J Janczyn on November 6, 2009
There was no surf to speak of this morning though they’re predicting it will build later today and tomorrow. So just a little sightseeing. The Army Corps of Engineers is repairing the OB jetty and replacing its light beacon due to storm damage over the years. They’ll also dredge the channel into Mission Bay. The OB Rag wonders whether the surf will be affected – and has an interesting account of the history behind the jetty. I got the close-up of the crane a few weeks ago when they were preparing to move it to its current position. At Point Loma the tidepools weren’t visible because of high tide, and the combination of clouds and haze made for an average view. I did catch a Navy submarine heading out to sea. Click small pics for enlargements.
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Posted in Environment, Friday spot check, Surfing, Water | Tagged: Ocean Beach, Point Loma | 1 Comment »
Posted by George J Janczyn on October 31, 2009
I know it’s Saturday but this WAS a Friday spot check (with a little sneak into southern La Jolla)
Pacific Beach, corner of Garnet Ave and Mission Blvd
Pacific Beach, Crystal Pier Hotel
No storms but kelp washes up anyway
Posted in Friday spot check, Surfing | Tagged: Pacific Beach | Leave a Comment »
GrokSurf's San Diego 