Random SW swell Alert: RECAP

Hey gang...I got a great email yesterday from a guy that shot down to Mainland Mexico for a surgical strike on that last SW swell

Not only did the guy freaking score he also managed to shoot some sick photos and kept his head enough to take notes on the swell activity. (Always make sure to take notes people...you can reverse engineer the forecast so that you can score the same place again!)

First check out these photos





And here is the breakdown of his trip...I wish I had been there (not staring at this stupid computer).

Thursday evening – fun 90 minute session at Manzanillo Bay with sets going a foot or two OH

Friday a.m. – Boat to the Ranch (same captain we had – Ramon)… sets going 3+ feet OH and super clean…. Manageable crowd. Also surfed for 2 hours solo at “A-frames”, a spot just 5 minutes past the Ranch. 4 hour session.

Friday p.m. – Arrive at Nexpa to find the Mexican National Surf Championships in progress. Make the call to drive another 2-1/2 hours to Ticla. Surf huge sketchy reef on way up.

Saturday – Mind blowing Ticla. Clean all day. Sets going DOH. No crowd. 250+ yard rippable lefts…. Just an insane wave.

Sunday – See above with slightly smaller sets.

Monday – 5 hour session at the Ranch and A-frames. Sets still a couple feet OH.

...the lucky dog.

If you are interested in checking out the original forecast post here it is...

http://socalforecast.blogspot.com/2008/04/random-sw-swell-alert-south-pacific-is.html

Wednesday's Waves: More Windswell for now but something is starting to line up way out back

Wednesday will be another surf day but it may be a touch sloppy at times.

Surfwise we will have mostly NW windswell (300+) and a tiny touch of leftover SW swell. Wave heights are expected to hold around waist-shoulder high+ at the exposed NW breaks. The protected areas will be much smaller, holding consistently in the knee-chest high range on the sets.

We will have a small storm moving through the area tonight that will bring some rain and scattered showers to both the north and central coasts. This front will be clearing the area by the morning and we should see weather start to dry out quickly afterward.

Winds should be light in the morning, (a lot depends on how fast the front moves out), so look for mostly light and variable onshore texture for spots from SF northward. Monterey Bay/Santa Cruz breaks will have light N-NW flow through the morning. All spots see an increase in NW flow by the afternoon.

Your best bet for surf will likely be the NW facing beach breaks...there may be a little bump to it with the onshore winds...but it should be manageable. The Santa Cruz spots will be quite a bit smaller...mostly weak longboard surf, but if you head out with that in mind you will probably have some fun there too.

Long-range it looks like the North Pacific is going to get one last gasp...the forecasts are showing a ok looking storm forming around the southern edge of the Gulf of Alaska. Here check out the wavewatchIII chart...it is showing the system in about 4 days or so.



If the storm lives up to forecasts we could see an overhead+ WNW swell, with some longer-period energy, arriving around the 28th or so. Anyway thought I would throw it out there for you to check out...make sure to check back I will have some better info as we get closer.

Tuesday’s NorCal Surf – Smaller and Cleaner

We will get a chance to surf on Tuesday…even the more exposed breaks should have a slight breather from the wind.

Tuesday all of our swell takes a big step down. The NW windswell that has been driving most of our surf for the last few days backs down to about waist-chest high+ while the SW swell that has been holding in the background backs off as well.

The NW facing spots will be in the waist-chest high range with some shoulder high sets mixing it at the top breaks.

The protected breaks, mostly the sheltered points and reefs in Santa Cruz and Monterey, will be smaller…holding around knee-waist high…with a couple of slightly larger waves sneaking through at the combo breaks.

Winds will be light in the morning. Spots from SF northward will see light SE flow through the morning while Santa Cruz has light offshore breezes early. Winds will shift more Southward by the afternoon/evening and will start to bring in some scattered rain as a new low-pressure moves through late in the day.

If you have been jonesing to surf this would be a good day to get out and catch a few. The surf will be smaller but more manageable for all of the exposed beach breaks, which we don’t get very often during the spring. Hey if you find a decent sandbar it could be pretty fun on the right tides.

Monday’s Surf – Rinse and Repeat

Monday will be a surf day for the protected areas. NW facing spots will continue to be plagued by onshore winds and sloppy surf.

In the water we will have the same mix of NW windswell and SW background swell that we had over the weekend…just a touch smaller as both swells start to trail off.

Most NW facing spots, Bay Area beach breaks and other more exposed surf-spots, will have consistent but sloppy head high to overhead surf. A few of the deepwater breaks will have some bigger sets at times as well. Shape will be poor with both stacked up windswell waves and the winds to go along with them, even in the morning.

The protected spots will be smaller…holding mostly in the chest-shoulder high range. Standout breaks in those areas will see some shoulder-head high sets on the right tides.

Winds will be out of the N-NW, 10-20 knots around the Bay Area, and closer to 5-10 (and more northerly) in the Monterey region.

Again, like the weekend, I think your best (uh I mean only) bet will be to surf the protected spots…the winds are just too strong, and the swell to sloppy, to really try and muscle through a more exposed break.

Waves (Uh I mean Wind) for the Weekend

This weekend is looking mighty breezy. There will be a ton of local NW windswell in the water but a lot of wind coming right in with it.

We will have a nasty mix of NW windswell and building SW swell. Most NW facing breaks will have well-overhead surf…even nearing the double-overhead range but the shape will be total garbage thanks to onshore winds in the 15-25 knot range.

The protected areas will be smaller…mostly in the waist-shoulder high range. Standout spots that can pull in at least a little of the windswell and the SW’er will be closer to head high to overhead on the sets.

At this point it looks like the winds will back off a bit on Sunday, still in the NW 10-15+ knot range though. NW facing spots will still be very sloppy, but the more protected areas will be cleaner, more organized, and the SW swell will be peaking. Wave heights will be nominally the same as Saturday but the windswell will be dropping fast at the more exposed breaks (not that it will matter).

Really if you are going to surf this weekend…stick to protected areas like Santa Cruz and Central Coast breaks…the SW swell will be fun, even on the inside sections, and they will be able to handle the funky-chicken winds.

Friday’s Surf – Holy wind Batman!

Friday is not going to be much of a surf day. It may start ok but strong W-NW winds move in fast and things get nasty by the afternoon.

New NW windswell moves in with a small (and likely overpowered) building SW swell.

The NW facing breaks will get into the overhead+ to well overhead range but will have poor windblown shape. NWS is issuing Gale Warnings for many areas tomorrow so it will be very sloppy once winds get up to speed.

The S-SW facing spots will be smaller, mostly knee-chest high with some rare bigger sets showing at the combo spots. These breaks will have fair shape in the morning but will start to get junked up by the building winds in the afternoon.

If you have to surf stick to the S-SW facing spots…you will be giving up a lot of size but conditions will be waaaaaay better. The best bet will likely be on the inside sections of those protected spots…but you will want to bring your small wave board.

Thursday’s Surf – Morning Love

Thursday is looking pretty surfable (and in the playful size range) for most NorCal spots…about the only thing that could be a problem is the morning high tide (which is a 4’+ that hits around 8:30 or so).

Our surf will be fading overall on Thursday. In the water we will have a mix of still healthy but dropping WNW wind/groundswell and some smaller but slightly building SW energy.

Most breaks will hold around waist-shoulder high with a few bigger sets mixing it at the more exposed spots. Standout beach breaks will see some head high+ sets at times.

The protected areas of Santa Cruz and the Central coast will be smaller…mostly knee-waist high+ through the morning tide…but they will increase to a more consistent chest high+ as the tide drops during the afternoon.

Winds should improve overnight with light/variable to light N-NE winds setting up for the morning. Look for more onshore NW flow around 10-15+ knots for the afternoon.

Your best bet for surf will probably be those more exposed beach breaks on Thursday…particularly spots that like the windswell shape but are protected from the N-NE winds, which most spots are. You are still likely to see a lot of stacked up shape from the windswelly swell-periods but they should offer up a few dumpy corners as we move into the low tide.