THE Surf Report 7/28/11

Back on track.

 

SURF:

Nothing much these past few days. Just some small NW windswell with average beach weather. Water was still warm though at 70. Fortunately a new small SW started to show last night and beaches in far north SD and the OC had some chest high sets by sundown. Today it’s filled in a bit further and we have inconsistent shoulder high sets around town with head high+ sets the closer you get to the OC. Nothing firing but lots of fun waves and good weather is on tap later. We also have some small knee high NW windswell trying to peak up the beach breaks a tad.

Those swells peak today and drop slightly Saturday. We actually get another boost from the SW on Sunday for shoulder high waves in north county SD and overhead sets in the OC. Low clouds should burn off mid-morning and the water is still a summer-like 70 degrees. Looks like a fun weekend for surf. Tides the next few days are 1’ at sunrise, 4.5’ at 10am, down slightly to 2’ at 3pm, and back up to 6’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the swells and conditions at Twitter/North County Surf. 

FORECAST:

After a fun weekend of surf, we get a continuation of fun SW swell on Monday then it backs off for a few days. Mid-week should have some rideable waist high+ surf (better sets in the OC) from some background SW swell. Luckily the southern hemisphere has been active and is sending more swells our way. Looks like next weekend we should get more SW swell (shoulder high) along with small waist high NW windswell and possibly a slightly bigger SW swell around the 10^th of August. Pretty much expect SW swells off and on every 5-7 days. Just enough to keep the stoke alive and the job, family, and bills at bay. The US Open in HB this week should have contestable surf- and especially for the finals next weekend. Should be fun to watch. On a side note, we’ve got a little group of clouds of the coast of central America trying to form. Nothing too exciting- and considering the other hurricanes this season haven’t sent us any surf- I’m not holding my breath. Make sure to keep up to date though at Twitter/North County Surf for any late breaking developments.
 

WEATHER:

Even with the low clouds in the nights and mornings this past week (along with cool beach temps in the low to mid-70’s), it’s been WAAAAY better than last summer. If you’ll remember (or have been trying to forget) the majority of days were overcast, cool, and water temps in the mid-60’s. AND the surfed sucked. It was like having wisdom teeth pulled. Fortunately that weather pattern is over until the next ice age and we’ve got great summer weather on tap this weekend. We’ve got high pressure over the 4 Corners region setting up today which will lessen the clouds in the mornings, increase our temps to the mid-high 70’s, and add some humidity to the air- maybe even have some ‘tropical’ clouds drift overhead by Sunday- or at least explode into thunderstorms over the local mountains and deserts. That scenario should last until mid-week then we cool off slightly again towards next weekend.

BEST BET:

I’m calling Sunday. As the weather kicks into high gear and that new fun SW shows up, that looks to be the day. So take the kids to soccer Saturday and mow the lawn ASAP because you have a date with some rippable wedges. Break out the boardies!

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Ok, ok, ok- so we’ve got a couple small clusters of clouds off central America/Mainland Mex that may or may not amount to anything. At this point in time we’ve had 4 hurricanes form this year-

1. Adrian around the 2^nd week of June. A category 4 hurricane with winds in the 130-155 mph range

2. Beatriz around the 3^rd week of June. A category 1 hurricane with winds in the 75-95 mph range.
3. Calvin around the 2^nd week of July. A category 1 hurricane with winds in the 75-95 mph range.
4. And Dora a couple weeks ago. A category 4 hurricane with winds in the 130-155 mph range.

And as you know- all of them unfortunately died out before they came around the corner of the Baja peninsula and didn’t send any waves our way. But not is all lost. Seems like we’ve had a little more action this season compared to last year. If you look at the first 4 storms of 2010:

1. Agatha at the end of May. Only a tropical storm with winds about 45 mph.

2. Blas around the 2^nd week of June. Only a tropical storm again with winds about 45 mph.
3. Celia at the end of June. A strong category 5 hurricane with winds over 155 mph.
4. Darby at the end of June also. A category 3 hurricane with winds in the 110-130 range.

So what am I getting at you ask? Well last year was all over the map- we had a storm forming at the end of May (really early) and a strong category 5 hurricane in Celia in June. This year it’s been consistent- all 4 storms we’ve had have been hurricanes and they’ve been chugging along on a set timeline- 2 in June and 2 in July. Even though we haven’t had surf from them, I’m hoping the consistency keeps up as we head into the peak of the season in August so we get more predictable surf- if there is such a thing. If everything goes according to the 2011 plan, those little clusters of clouds should at keast form into 1 hurricane the 1^st week of August. Keep your fingers crossed!

BEST OF THE BLOG:

In case you haven’t seen what all the fuss was about, check out Kelly and the boys owning massive Cloudbreak a couple weeks ago. Or wondering what’s taking so long to get the massive 44 acre Encinitas Community Park (i.e. the Hall Property) up and running? Or how about a mid-week surf check? Then mosey on over to the blow below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

I love regional surf mags. Like France’s Trip Surf. Or Drift from the UK. Or the legendary Surfing World from Oz. And I have to mention Zig Zag from the land of Jordy, Pottz, and Shaun. Even though today’s shot isn’t from South Africa, they do know how to take shots of Indo. For more great shots, check out Zig Zag here.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn

Awesome
Scraping Popcorn Off The Debt Ceiling
IPS Top 16 Three Straight Years

Channel Islands O'Side Demo With Legend Taylor Knox



What could be better than learning how to do man turns with Taylor Knox at fun Oceanside south jetty? How about riding Channel Islands boards for free?! Of course you can't keep them, but the surf is supposed to be good this weekend and I'll watch Taylor do real turns all day long vs. kids do tricks in 2' slop. Make sure to head to south jetty tomorrow morning between 8 and 10 am to try out Biscuits, Fishcuits, Black Flags, Flyers, Neck Beards, Dumpster Divers, you name it. And my personal favorite (I just picked one up last weekend) the Whip. I surf like Slater so it was only natural.

Encinitas Community Park Update

Remember the old Hall Property greenhouses, west of the 5 freeway in Cardiff (between Birmingham and Santa Fe Drive)? The one that's been demolished and cleared for a new massive 44 acre park for the past 2 years? The one where it's been in a legal battle because of neighbors, park design, environmental impact reports, etc? The one that's now cleverly named 'Encinitas Community Park' (I guess such witty names as Golden Gate Park, Balboa Park, and Central Park were already taken). Seems as though city council finally got over the legal wrangling and now we don't have enough money to build it. Looks like we now have some financial woes for a park that's been in the works for over 10 years. Currently there is $9.8 million set aside for the project but that's about 1/2 of what is needed to complete the project. Good news is that until the city council gets bids from construction companies, it may be cheaper than that. Bad news is that it may be more expensive than that. When completed, it's going to be a great park. Plans have a few sports fields, a skate park, dog area, walking trails, kid's play structures, and swimming pool. To save money, some of the areas may be built in phases (i.e. being built when there's money available) which means probably the pool, skate park, and dog park are low on the totem pole. It's unfortunate it's taken this long to get everything finally approved- and now we're waiting on funds. You know my take- I like smart growth. It's great to have land in it's natural environment (vs. putting a Wal Mart up) but now that the land has been cleared and it's full of weeds, blowing trash, and piles of dirt, it's an eyesore. Hopefully we'll find a solution fast so we can get some landscaping in there. Best case would be a couple years before it's 100% ready to use.

Surf Check 7/27/11

It's trying today but it's just not there yet. Just some dying locally generated NW windswell from our outerwaters and new some new small building SW. Best combo spots are stomach high. Unfortunately the wind is blowing and it's overcast so it's looking a bit ugly.

There's even a bit more low clouds today and the wind is S around 10. Should burn off though to hazy cool afternoon sunshine later today. Tropics are also quiet too- no storms of consequence are forming off mainland Mex/central America today.

Water temps are still hovering at 70. Tides are 4' at 9am, 2' at 2pm, and 6' at 8pm. Kind of a boring day out there.

Good news is that Mex got some SW swell the last couple days and it's headed our way. We may have some shoulder high sets tomorrow afternoon with head high+ sets in the OC on Friday. There's even more swell headed our way for Sunday. And weather models are showing the sun coming out a bit earlier this weekend with warmer temps in the mid to high 70's.

Fun SW swell + nice weather = good times this weekend. Go get some the next few days!

Clip of the Day: Torrid Tavarua Tubes

Pacific Pirates from Billabong on Vimeo.
Wondering what all the fuss was about with Kelly skipping the J-Bay contest this past week? Have a look at Bruce Irons, Mark Healey, Kelly, and an Aussie contingent as they tackle some of the biggest most perfect barrels ever. Even though it was nothing like that around here the past week, we luckily have some fun surf coming for the weekend. More on that later today...

THE Surf Report 7/22/11

Tease.

SURF:

All kinds of stuff happening the past week in the Pacific but not … really… here. The south Pacific had that bomb of a swell in Tavarua last week, Hurricane Dora off Baja peaked with 155mph winds yesterday, there’s been some windswell off central California- but nothing here. We got a little taste of that Tavi swell on Tuesday (more like a whiff), only limited waist high windswell from up north, and Hurricane Dora isn’t in our window yet (or maybe never- more on that below). Today we just have small background SW/NW for waist high waves around town. Maybe best SW spots in the OC have chest high sets.

And the weather isn’t cooperating either- the low clouds/fog are burning off late this week to give us cool beach temps in the low to mid-70’s. All in all is a pretty uneventful day. Saturday looks to be the same unfortunately. Forecast charts show a slight bump from NW windswell on Saturday but that’s only fun for south SD. Can’t complain- this has been WAAAAY better than last summer- a little more waves, a little more sun, and a lot warmer water. Speaking of water, temps are still holding at 70. Tides the next few days are about 2’ at sunrise, dropping to 1’ at 8am, going up to 5’ at 4pm, then down slightly to 2’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf. 

FORECAST:

If you’ve been following my tweets, you’ve probably noticed all the chatter about Hurricane Dora. It was even showing signs of life a week ago- so it’s been a long time brewing. Fortunately it hit a peak of 155mph yesterday afternoon (an intense Category 4 storm). Unfortunately it started to weaken rapidly after that. And double unfortunately (is that good grammar?) it was still under the Baja’s shadow so it’s not in our swell window! Today it’s got winds of 105mph (a 50mph drop in less than 24 hours- not good) and is sputtering further. Best case is that it limps across the ‘finish line’ (i.e. gets out of Baja’s shadow and into our swell window) as a tropical storm by Sunday and sends some 180 straight S our way for MAYBE chest high waves in the OC. It’s almost acting like it’s trying to spite us- trying to die as fast as it can so it won’t have to send us an inheritance (i.e. waves). That sucks! If we do get any shot of small tropical swell, it would be towards Monday. The south Pacific luckily has been working in our favor and has had some storms the past few days. Nothing major, but we should get some head high waves in SD (overhead sets in the OC) by next Thursday. Long story short- just some small conditions to start the work week but better waves toward the weekend.

 

WEATHER:

We had a good string of weather the past 2 months- no real May Gray or June Gloom to speak of and this past week wasn’t all that bad- even though the low clouds and fog were more extensive in the nights and mornings. This weekend looks to have the same low clouds and fog in the nights/mornings with partial cool sunshine in the afternoon. Not a real hot summer type weekend but it won’t be cool and gloomy thank goodness. Charts show high pressure starting to build again for Monday with warmer beach temps in the high 70’s and a little surge in monsoon moisture for the deserts/mountains. Should be a nice week. Low clouds/fog may return the following weekend.

BEST BET:

Since this weekend will be weak with cool beach temps, it’s a no brainer to say next Friday is the call. We should have nice weather and a fun south to contend with. I don’t know if I can wait that long though…

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

So do we or don’t we have global warming?! That is the question scientists, environmentalists, politicians, clergymen, you name it, have been debating the past 30 years. A recent study by NOAA suggests we’re warming, but not as fast thanks to particles high in the atmosphere reflecting sunlight. Fact or fiction? Read on…

“A recent increase in the abundance of particles high in the atmosphere has offset about a third of the current climate warming influence of carbon dioxide (CO2) change during the past decade, according to a new study led by NOAA and published today in the online edition of Science. In the stratosphere, miles above Earth’s surface, small, airborne particles reflect sunlight back into space, which leads to a cooling influence at the ground. These particles are also called “aerosols," and the new paper explores their recent climate effects- the reasons behind their increase remain the subject of ongoing research. “Since the year 2000, stratospheric aerosols have caused a slower rate of climate warming than we would have seen without them,” says John Daniel, a physicist at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRLOCS), and dimethyl sulfide(DMS) are the dominant surface emissions which contribute to aerosol formation. The reasons for the 10-year increase in stratospheric aerosols are not fully understood and are the subject of ongoing research, says coauthor Ryan Neely, with the University of Colorado and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). Likely suspects are natural sources – smaller volcanic eruptions – and/or human activities, which could have emitted the sulfur-containing gases, such as sulfur dioxide, that react in the atmosphere to form reflective aerosol particles. Daniel and colleagues with NOAA, CIRES, the University of Colorado, NASA, and the University of Paris used a climate model to explore how changes in the stratosphere’s aerosol content could affect global climate change – both in the last decade, and projected into the future. The team concluded that models miss an important cooling factor if they don’t account for the influence of stratospheric aerosol, or don’t include recent changes in stratospheric aerosol levels. Moreover, future global temperatures will depend on stratospheric aerosol. The warming from greenhouse gases and aerosols calculated for the coming decade can vary by almost a factor of two — depending on whether aerosols continue to increase at the same rate as over the past decade, or if instead they decrease to very low levels, such as those experienced in 1960. If stratospheric aerosol levels continue to increase, temperatures will not rise as quickly as they would otherwise, said Ellsworth Dutton, also with NOAA ESRL and a co-author on the paper. Conversely, if stratospheric aerosol levels decrease, temperatures would increase faster. Dutton and his colleagues use the term “persistently variable” to describe how the background levels of aerosol in Earth’s stratosphere can change from one decade to the next, even in the absence of major volcanic activity. Ultimately, by incorporating the ups and downs of stratospheric aerosols, climate models will be able to give not only better estimates of future climate change, but also better explanations of past climate changes. “The ‘background’ stratospheric aerosols are more of a player than we thought,” said Daniel. “The last decade has shown us that it doesn’t take an extremely large volcanic eruption for these aerosols to be important to climate.”

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Why wait all week for an in depth wave/weather forecast? Check out the blog every Tuesday (or Wednesday if I’m feeling lazy) to see what the future holds. Or if you’re just a Kelly Slater fan, check out the cheap Channel Islands deals on the blog this week or what the rest of the tour is griping about since King Kelly bailed on the J-Bay contest. All of that and more in the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

For years I’ve scoured the earth to find the most exotic waves in far off locales and bring them to THE Surf Report. But we have some pretty good waves in the good ol’ U.S. of A. too. Take for instance Laniakea on the north shore of Oahu. An amazing wave that is forgotten amongst the glamour spots known as Pipe, Sunset, and Waimea. Of course the guys who posted this shot are Aussies- the beloved Australian Surfing Life magazine. Oh well. To see more slices of heaven, check out the link here.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn

Auspicious

Cocktail Waiter

Got Lil’ Barrels With Midget Yesterday





Deal Alert! Cheap Channel Islands Surfboards (Again)!

Cheap is a relative term- especially when you're talking about an Al Merrick designed board. I should know, I just bought a K-Whip and had to sell my liver to get it. But it's like the old saying goes- "You get what you pay for". You want a board ridden by the world's best, designed by the world's best, rides like a dream, AND is durable? Then you combine Kelly Slater, Al Merrick, and Surftech to create 3 boards- a 6'3", 6'6", and 6'9" step ups. Found online at Department of Goods this week, these are unique specimens- they're rounded pins so you'll want some real waves, preferably bowly to ride it. It's also a Surftech epoxy- while durable- is also lighter. Good if you want a bigger board to turn like a shorter board. Bad if there's some bump on the water as you'll be bouncing around. But for $632, it's a steal compared to $840 retail. And you're not paying tax which shaves off another $50 or so. Wanna see how a Channel Islands surfboard works in one of the world's best waves? The have a peak at the clip below of Dane and Kelly getting loony.

Clip of the Day: Krabby On Kelly

By now you've heard all the stories about Kelly Slater and the boys getting that all-time swell in Tavarua last week while at the same time the Billabong Pro was starting in J-Bay; meaning Kelly missed the contest. But can you blame him? J-Bay was 4' and inconsistent while Fiji was 40' and off it's rocker. Seems as though some of the world tour guys thought Kelly showed disrepect to the tour by saying he was going to do the contest, the fans showed up, and then Kelly bailed. Check out the video above with Jordy Smith, Mick Fanning, Julian Wilson, etc. giving their 2 cents. And some righteous Kelly contest footage to boot.

Surf Check 7/19/11

All kinds of good stuff going on today. Looks like that remnant SW filled in from the hyped Tavarua swell along with some small NW windswell. Even though the SW swell hit Tavi with 30'+ sets, the swell was chewed up by the south Pacific islands and only gave us bits and pieces. Best sets today were head high in the OC and north SD had some shoulder high sets.

It peaked earlier today but we'll have some leftovers tomorrow. Next up is some NWwindswell forming towards Thursday afternoon which will show on Friday/Saturday. Not big but some chest high waves in south SD.

Hurricane Dora is also kicking into gear and is currently off southern Mexico with winds of 75mph and increasing. Forecast charts showing it peaking at 125mph (category 3) and just outside our swell window on Thursday. As it starts to head over cooler waters in a few days, it will start to die of course (probably a tropical storm again on Friday) but I'm hoping it still has a little strength and can send us a chest to head high S swell. That would show towards Sunday.

The southern hemisphere was quiet last week but has been stirred up the past few days. Nothing huge but I'm hoping for some head high+ SW towards next weekend. Long story short, looks like some swell every few days for us. Can't complain.

Water temps are 70 and a weak trough is headed our way the next few days resulting in slightly cooler air temps and more extensive night/morning low clouds. Tides the next few days are generally 0' at 7am, 5' at 2pm, and 2' at sunset. Have a good week and enjoy the summer!

THE Surf Report 7/15/11

Traffic.

SURF:
Seems like we’ve been running running running with good surf… then stop. Lots of good SW waves early in the week but the past few days were lagging. This morning unfortunately we’ve got a low tide, lack of swell, and cool cloudy conditions. Not too appetizing. Most waves around town are waist high SW with maybe a bigger set in the OC. There is also background knee high+ NW- maybe some waist high waves in south SD.

The rest of the weekend looks to be the same- small SW/NW, low tide, and cool in the morning with some hazy afternoon sunshine. Not too sound spoiled or anything, but this weekend should boring. Water temps are holding at 70- good weekend to teach your lady friend how to surf. Tides the next few days are -1’ at sunrise, 4.5’ at 11am, down to 1’ at 4pm, and up to 5’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf.

FORECAST:

By now you’ve probably seen or heard about that big SW swell that hit Tavarua a few days ago. Some solid 30’+ bombs down there that Wassel, Healey, Slater, Kohl, D. Gudang, Bruce, and the boys paddled into at Cloudbreak. Just our luck though- the south Pacific Islands pretty much blocked that storm/swell from sending real surf our way so we’ll only get some inconsistent chest high waves starting Monday from it with a bigger head high set in the OC. That should last until Tuesday. Charts are also showing a slight increase every few days from NW windswell (probably Saturday and Tuesday and Friday of next week)- only waist high but it might be rideable in south SD. Charts show some activity in the southern hemisphere about 5 days out which means almost 2 weeks later for us (around the end of the month) so it's looking a bit quiet down there. We also have some clouds off of Central America that aren’t really organized but hopefully towards Monday we’ll have a better indication of what it may turn out to be. Considering the other 3 hurricanes this season died out before they hit our swell window, I’m not expecting much from this either. Man do I sound depressing. Maybe I should listen to my mom’s old proverb- if I don’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say it at all!

WEATHER:

I actually had showers at my house yesterday. Had to use the windshield wipers while dropping off my groms at camp. Felt more like January then July. We have a weak trough sitting over us today which has dropped temps 10 degrees below normal. Heck- Palm Springs around lunch time yesterday was only 89 when they should have been low 100’s. I don’t think anyone out there is complaining. Back here at the coast though this morning, we’ve got some low clouds, cool temps, and a shot at afternoon sunshine later. That set up lasts until tomorrow then we get back to normal early in the week; look for high pressure to set up shop again and give us less clouds in the morning and beach temps in the high 70’s. Charts unfortunately are showing another weak trough setting up shop late next week. It’starting to remind me of last summer...

BEST BET:

Nothing too exciting but I’ll have to say Tuesday- we have better beach weather on tap, that inconsistent ‘Tavi’ SW swell peaking (albeit waist-chest high), and some added small NW swell. Nothing to call in sick at work for but it should be the best day in an overall slow upcoming week.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Great article from the San Diego Union Tribune earlier this week. Maybe you’ve heard the story already or not- in a nutshell we’ve literally got a tsunami of trash headed our way. Due to the currents in the Pacific, all that junk the tsunami in Japan washed into the sea is headed our way. Not all of it thankfully- a lot will be sucked into the Pacific Gyre- but we may have some odd stuff washed up onto our beaches in the coming years. Read on…

A tide of trash from tsunami-ravaged Japan is drifting across the Pacific Ocean and should reach California’s shores in three years or less, computer models show. Marine researchers expect the flotsam will wash up in bits and pieces, not in the huge rafts of debris that formed off Japan’s coast shortly after the March disaster that started with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. Much of the material will sink or get pulled into the vast, swirling gyre of garbage in the mid-Pacific, but some buoyant pieces — particularly plastics — should make it from coastline to coastline given the prevailing eastward currents. The debris’ journey from Japan to San Diego will cover about 5,500 miles. It’s an intriguing prospect for beachgoers who comb the sand for trinkets or oddities from far-off lands — say fishing buoys, household objects or the proverbial message in a bottle. It’s also a reminder of Mother Nature’s unpredictable fury and a testing ground for scientific models of ocean movements. U.S. officials, university researchers and advocacy groups anticipate the debris will create navigational hazards and increased garbage along the West Coast even as they acknowledge there’s no certainty about how much of the trash will reach the United States. Some view the natural disaster as a teachable moment — one that helps residents realize how much trash ends up on the high seas from sources that can be controlled. Ocean experts said the U.S. may eventually need to mobilize a cleanup program in nearshore waters. “You want to do the right scale of response,” said Kris McElwee with the marine debris program run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Hawaii. “We don’t know whether to expect flotsam as usual or a little tiny bump or a big bump.” In late June, McElwee met with representatives from the Navy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the University of Hawaii and other organizations to start strategizing about debris tracking and management. She said a problem is that participants don’t have money for emergency response related to the debris from Japan. “One thing that was definitely of interest all around the room was working with mariners and trying to get observations from people who already are out at sea,” McElwee said. Other ideas included deploying satellite-linked buoys alongside floating debris to track where it’s going, closely monitoring locations — such as the Midway Atoll — that likely will get the trash well before the mainland, and flying across the projected path in search of clues about debris flow. The tsunami created millions of tons of wreckage along Japan’s coastline. Heavy merchandise such as homes and cars sank quickly, while patches of buoyant items initially stretched for miles. By mid-April, those floating dumps had dispersed to the point that U.S. marine officials could no longer track them by satellite. Widely cited projections by the University of Hawaii at Manoa estimate the debris plume stretching roughly halfway across the Pacific by March and approaching California’s shores two years later. But federal scientists said it’s impossible to accurately predict currents and winds over so much time, leaving it uncertain when or where the items might appear on U.S. soil. What’s more clear is that the material won’t be radioactive because the flushing of Japan’s coastline preceded leaks at nuclear generators in the hardest-hit area. Large items such as capsized boats and shipping containers may make it across and create navigational hazards close to the coast. More common pieces likely will include construction wood, plastic household goods and fishing gear. The possibilities remind researcher Bruce Cornuelle at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla of finding colored glass buoys from the Japanese fishing fleet when he was a kid growing up in Hawaii. The “big beautiful blue spheres” carried to shore by the high tides were quite a catch for beachcombers, especially when they still had pieces of fishing net attached. These days, Cornuelle models ocean circulation at Scripps. He compares the tsunami debris to a drop of cream in a cup of coffee. “If you stir the coffee cup, that patch spread out until it fills the whole cup,” Cornuelle said. He said items will move at various rates based on whether they are riding on top of the waves, are suspended below the surface or stick into the air to catch wind.  At the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, executive director Marieta Francis is waiting for the debris to reach Southern California. She figures objects that make it this far largely will be plastics, which she views as the scourge of the ocean because they can kill sea creatures and possibly inject chemicals into the marine food web. For more than a decade, the foundation has been a leader in drawing attention to the trash — including countless pieces of plastic — swirling endlessly in the mid-Pacific. It’s been dubbed the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and a recent study by graduate students at Scripps showed that nearly one in 10 fish sampled in the region contained plastic bits.  “Trying to clean it up (on the water) would be like trying to clean up the whole Sahara Desert with one tractor,” Francis said. “What we can do about it is to stop more from getting out there

BEST OF THE BLOG:
Dane is back! Or almost back; looks like he’s skipping the J-Bay contest but with his rehabbed knee, his surfing is still 10 times better than me. Dane put together a little clip that I linked to my site and he throws down some serious man turns as well as the occasional blow tail. And if that wasn’t enough, I’ve got the trailer of Kai Neville’s new film ‘Lost Atlas’ with more, you guessed it, Dane. And if the recent degrading of surf culture by corporate America (see Hollister, Abercrombie, Costco, etc) has got you down, then make sure to stop by Surfy Surfy this weekend and get your stoke back on. Read all of that and more in the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

I love stories like this: Seems as though a friend of mine was to go on a boat trip to Indo. Convinces his wife to get a hall pass, works his tail off for the vacation time, rallies his buddies to go, saves his pennies- and then the boat trip falls through due to force majeure. He then scrambles to find a new spot to vacation at in early June and ends up in mainland Mex. As luck would have it- a hurricane forms- which is unusually early for June. Bad news is that it brushes their camp and dumps wind and rain for days on end while his family wonders if he’s alive. Good news is that weather cleaned up, the surf started firing, and he got what he came for- empty point break barrels. I guess good things really come to those who wait.  

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn

Man Behind The Man
Have A Leaky Debt Ceiling
Was The 2^nd to Ride Pipe Behind Phil

North County Business News: Double Shakas for Surfy Surfy

I've always been a fan of small surf shops. My first 'real' job was running a little shop called Corona del Mar Beach Club back in the late 80's. I was in charge of keeping the groms in line and the wax stacked. Back in the day Bob Hurley would come by and sling his IPD boards, Uggs were just getting a start here in the states, and Mossimo was pushing these funky cow print shorts that customers bought like they were going out of style (which they did of course). Life was simple and the surf industry was barely pushing a million dollars. Then soul-less corporations like Costco and Hollister started selling their own version of 'surf' at the end of the 20th century and the surf shop started to disappear. Luckily for us, there's guys like JP St. Pierre who haven't forgotten what's surfing's all about and they opened shops like Surfy Surfy.

Located at 974 N Coast Hwy 101 in Leucadia, the original building has been around since the 20's (check out the unique facade when you're there) and it was actually the old Greyhound bus station. Now it showcases what a surf shop should be: a place to meet friends, talk about swells, scrutinize/fantasize boards, and pick up some wax. JP has been involved with north county and surfing since the 70's- first as a grom working at Sunset Surfboards (where Nitro bikes on Highway 101 currently sits) and then working for his dad Peter at the legendary Moonlight Glassing. He noticed over the years surf shops were losing their identity so he decided to open his own- Surfy Surfy- on May 1st, 2010. He also noticed shops around town closed early- so when you got off of work- you didn't have time to run to a shop to grab some wax or trunks before an evening session. You got skunked! So he's made it a point to keep the hours around 9-7 Monday to Wednesday and 9-8 Thursday-Saturday.

Community is also important to the soul of a shop so JP is opening a coffee house next door (the plan is to have a soft opening on August 29th during the Leucadia Art Walk and regular hours starting September 1st) so you can grab some coffee, check out some shapes, down a pastry, and listen to some good music. With the re-paved patio out front, it's going to be a cool place to hang with the wifey and groms.

What's really unique about Surfy Surfy is what it doesn't have; no blaring music (Hollister take note), no big multinational corpos pushing their marketing 'message' in your face, and TV's flashing clips of the latest airs for the ADD crowd. With the help of manager Summer Nelson, the shop carries some unique apparel brands (mostly independent, organic, and made in the USA) as well as an eclectic selection of shapers (in which all the boards are glassed through dad's Moonlight Glassing):

-GH (JP learned to surf on Gary's designs)
-Caster (an old family friend of the legendary boards)

-Sunset Surfboards of course

-Singerland (JP likes the old school craftsman style)

-Channel Islands (Al actually went to San Dieguito High)
-Campbell Brothers (a Moonlight Glassing specialty due to the unique bonzer design)

-Sakal (originally an HB shaper that got out from behind the Orange Curtain and recently relocated to Cardiff- good on ya')

-DK (an up and coming 20-something shaper)

-Mandala (shapes some really cool 'jet' tails with some unique flex characteristics)

The shop also has Dale Webster's board on display. Dale if you don't know is the legendary nor-Cal surfer who has ridden waves EVERY SINGLE DAY since 1975. That's over 13,000 days straight. Don't worry about Surfy Surfy having Dale's board and ending the streak- Dale got a new one.

Since the surf is going to be small this weekend, make it a point to get some kind of stoke back in your life and head on over to Surfy Surfy to sniff a bar of Sex Wax and talk some board design with the local crew. You can thank me later.

Clip of the Day: Dane Lives

As you know by now, I have a man crush on Dane Reynolds. As a grom, I idolized Curren and had the head snaps to prove it. Then Slater came along and I practiced my tale slides into my 30's. Now Dane is on my short list of heroes and there's no way in hell I'll be able to learn his airs now that I'm 40. Surfing has officially passed me by. Dane hurt himself towards the end of '10 and has been out of the water rehabbing his leg. The ASP Dream Tour and freesurf followers like myself have missed his creativity. Luckily the drought is almost over and Dane has been getting back in shape in Mexico through extensive cutback training and a strict cold Pacifico diet. His website Marine Layer Productions has thrown together a quick video of his exploits called 'Lost Interest' (which sounds eerily similar to Kai Neville's upcoming epic Lost Atlas starring Dane and friends). Dane mostly does barrels and carves with a few cautious airs in this film and seems to be 90%- which is 110% better than the rest of the ASP tour. If you want to get amped for your next session- make sure to check out this clip. You will be humbled.

Clip of the Day: Lost Atlas

When Taylor Steele released Momentum back in the early 90s, it ushered in a new era of high performance with the help of Slater, Dorian, Machado, Ross, Knox, and others. So it only seems appropriate that the next generation of high performance film making comes from a Steele protege, Kai Neville. When Kai released Modern Collective a couple years ago, it had the same criticism Momentum got- too many tricks and not enough old school. But the fact remains you can't slow down the progression of surfing and the 'tricks' in Modern Collective were amazing. It's one thing to do a 2' air in 2' HB, but some of the 6' airs Jordy, Dane, etc. do in 6' Indo were flat out scary. So on Modern Collective's heels comes Lost Atlas from Kai Neville this August (actually being premiered at the US Open if you want to be part of that mayhem). Starring Dion, Dayne, Dusty, Ando (Craig- not Greg), Jordy, John John, Mitch (Coleburn- not Thorson), Owen, Conner, Kolohe, Julian, Evan, Wade, Yadin, Chippa, Dillon, and Droid. Pretty much the who's who of the millennium. Even though Slater still kills it, I guess it's safe to say we'll never see another 'Momentum' type film starring Slaer, Kalani, Taylor, Rob, etc. The King is dead, long live the King.

THE Surf Report 7/8/11

Summertime, and the livin’s easy.

SURF:

Amazing weather this past week and water temps hovering around 70 to boot. Today we’ll have great weather again (when this new batch of low clouds burn off mid-morning) and a slight bump in SW swell for waist-chest waves in SD and shoulder high waves in the OC.

Saturday picks up another foot and Sunday should be head high with best spots in the OC going overhead. Nothing big but plenty fun. We also have some winds in the outer waters today so we should have NW windswell to cross up the SW lines and peaks at the beach breaks. The weather unfortunately is getting back to normal this weekend and we’ll have low clouds/fog in the morning and cooler hazy afternoon sunshine.  Water temps dropped slightly overnight- not much- but are now hovering around 68 while a couple days ago they were 72. No big deal- all in all is should be a fun weekend of surf with typical summer weather. Tides the next few days are 3’ at sunrise, 1’ mid-morning, 5.5’ at 5pm, and 3’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf.

FORECAST:

After a fun weekend of SW/NW surf, the SW fills in further on holds Monday and the NW windswell backs off slightly for chest high waves in south SD, head high waves in north SD, and overhead surf in the OC. The return of low clouds/fog in the nights/mornings are forecasted to return so temps will be a little cooler at the beaches but at least we have waves. The SW surf should slowly drop through the week while we have small background NW windswell.

Looks small by late next week but models show more activity in the south Pacific so keep your fingers crossed for more SW late in the weekend.

On a side note, the tropics are active again and we’ve got our 3^rd named storm of the season- Calvin. The National Hurricane Center doesn’t think highly of it as their forecast keeps it as a tropical storm- not even a hurricane. AND it’s supposed to die before it hits our swell window! Hopefully I’m wrong, so make sure to keep up to date on the storm at Twitter/North County Surf.

WEATHER:

Can’t beat a week of 80 degree temps, mild sea breezes, and humidity like it was Hawaii. We get a return of low clouds today but it should burn off quickly to temps in the high 70’s along with humidity again. Kind of a carbon copy tomorrow and then we start to get back to our normal summer pattern as a trough sets up along the west coast. Look for temps to drop to the low 70’s with morning low clouds and fog burning off to hazy afternoon sunshine on Sunday with less humidity. Models show the trough hanging around for awhile, so we may get low clouds/fog past next weekend with temps in the low 70’s at the beaches for the next 10 days at least.

BEST BET:

Should be a fun weekend of surf but I’m claiming Monday- even though we get cooler beach temps and low clouds/fog returning in the nights and mornings, we do get a peaking head high+ SW swell with NW windswell for wedges at the beachbreaks.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Not like I really want to help sharks out or anything, but since they’re a big part of the marine ecosystem, we’re starting to lose them at an alarming rate. One such mystery is the basking shark; the world’s 2nd largest known fish and one that has largely disappeared off the California coast. The San Diego Union Tribune did an article recently about the efforts of the National Marine Fisheries Service to locate them. Personally I don’t want to find them as I have enough fear of sharks, but since their existence relates to the health of the oceans, maybe I should keep an eye out for them...

It’s the equivalent of the FBI’s most wanted notices — a dragnet by marine researchers to locate and track the world’s second-largest known fish off the coast of California. “Have you seen this shark?” asks a poster being distributed at marinas, dive shops, docks and other spots from San Diego to Monterey by the local office of the National Marine Fisheries Service. The agency also is handing out wallet-sized photo ID cards along the waterfront and running an Internet campaign asking for the public’s help. The creature in question is the basking shark, one of roughly 400 known shark species and one that largely has disappeared on the West Coast. Two have been spotted and rigged with electronic tracking devices by federal researchers along the San Diego County coastline in the past few months — lucky finds that should increase knowledge about the species in the Pacific Ocean. Researchers at the National Marine Fisheries Service are seeking information, including photos and videos, about basking shark sightings along the West Coast. The “gentle giants” don’t eat people even though their gaping mouths look like they could swallow humans whole. Instead, they filter-feed on a type of zooplankton called copepods in quantities large enough to sustain frames that can grow up to 40 feet. “Basking sharks actually used to be a much more regular part of the local fauna,” said Heidi Dewar at the federal Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla. “Since the mid-1900s, we are lucky if we see any at all. ... You kind of forget that they are supposed to be here.” The California Current, a ribbon of south-flowing water along the West Coast, is among the world’s most productive marine zones, and recent studies have highlighted the need to better understand and better manage the ecosystem. Scientists say it’s under threat from climate change, fishing and pollution, but they still lack lots of basic information — for instance, about the basking shark. Last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration listed it as a species of concern based on the rarity of sightings in the Pacific. Schools of hundreds or thousands were reported early 1900s off the coasts of California and Canada, but basking sharks were fished and hunted to the point where no more than three at a time have been spotted in California since 1993. In places, the sharks have been commercially important as a source of food, fins and liver oil. Decades ago, Canadians were particularly aggressive about killing basking sharks with a device called a “razor-billed shark slasher” because the animals got tangled in salmon nets and threatened a critical industry. Canadians also have helped revive interest in the species and are working with Scripps, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and scientists from Mexico to better understand why the species has not rebounded despite decades of little direct human pressure. Biologists think there may be as few as 300 along the West Coast, one of the many items they are trying to get a handle on with the tracking effort by Dewar and her colleagues, John Hyde and Owyn Snodgrass.  It’s tedious work that researchers call “mowing the lawn” — trolling back and forth across the waves for hours in hopes of spotting a triangular fin that can be three feet tall. “There are a lot of times when you go out and look at the ocean and you never see a thing,” Hyde said. As the name implies, basking sharks tend to hang out close to the surface in nearshore waters. As word spreads about federal interest, the fisheries service is getting more tips about sightings. That allows Hyde and Snodgrass to search areas where the species was last seen. “Ideally, we’d like somebody to call us from the water and say there are five of them in front of my boat and we’d probably drop everything to get there,” Hyde said. Even with tips, finding the creatures is tough because they only need to descend a few feet to disappear. Hyde and Snodgrass placed the first-ever tag on a basking shark in the Pacific Ocean last year near Point Loma and added two more this spring, one off Del Mar and another near Imperial Beach. Once the fish are found, it’s relatively easy to anchor the monitoring device at the base of the dorsal fin. “We have been able to slowly idle up next to them and they don’t care one bit,” Hyde said. “They are very cooperative.” He suspects that demeanor may be responsible for some shark deaths because they are likely too nonchalant to dodge vessels. Satellite tags not only show the movements of basking sharks but they help to show how oceanography influences where they go and what they do. For instance, tags regularly record temperature and depth, allowing scientists a look at how they use the marine habitat. Last year’s data showed that the shark tagged off San Diego moved northwest to the Channel Islands and finally to Morro Bay where the tag dropped off. The temperature and depth data suggest the creature dove deeper than 1,500 feet. But with so little information, the species’ larger patterns of movement are still anyone’s guess. “We really have no idea if they are swimming across to Japan or Russia, or if they are heading down to Ecuador,” Dewar said, adding that such information is critical for any sort of conservation strategy. Hyde also is interested in the shark’s genetics, in part because it’s not clear that the Pacific variety is the same as its better-known relatives in the Atlantic. That’s where the public outreach campaign comes into play. “We are really trying to maximize the eyes on the water ... because we can’t cover the areas necessary to effectively survey them,” Dewar said. For more information, check out the article here.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Seriously- do you really want to read any more stories about evil moms on trial or what the royals are up to in Canada?! Take a load off your mind and check out the following: the latest surf checks, Jordy hanging with super models in the Maldives, some of the best contest surf you’ve ever seen, or saving you some $$$ on surf tees. Make sure to all that out and more in the blog below!
 

PIC OF THE WEEK:

A few months ago I described the processes at work at Black’s Beach and how the underwater canyons bend the incoming swells so the cross each other up resulting in A frame wedges. I think today’s Pic of the Week from Pete Taras/Surfing Magazine is a good example of the science at work. I guess Dupont coined it best: “The Miracles of Science.” Except of course the water at Blacks’ is a marine sanctuary and the water at Dupont  has 3 headed fish. But anyway, for more classic California images, take a look at these beauties from Pete's archives.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn

Marvelous
Hosting Dinner For Will and Kate Saturday
Have A 68% Win Rate Vs. Charlie Kuhn

Clip of the Day: Finally A Contest With Real Waves!

Finally a contest with real waves! The Mr. Price Pro being held in South Africa this week is an ASP Prime event meaning it's a combination of world tour guys as well as qualifying hopefuls. It's a cool mix as guys trying to get on the tour have a chance to battle it out against the big wigs. The past few days at the event have been big, windy, and lumpy but this morning everything came together- solid surf and firing barrels. Guys were getting PITTED. Quarterfinals are going to happen in the middle of the night (maybe have a few drinks at the bar and stay up for the event) as we could have semi final 1 of San Clemente whiz Pat Gudauskas vs. South African hero Jordy Smith and I'm hoping for semi 2 of prodigy A John John Florence vs. prodigy B Julian Wilson. Keep your fingers crossed. For more info on the event, here's the ASP press release:
BALLITO, KwaZulu Natal/South Africa (Friday, July 8, 2011) – The ASP Prime Mr Price Pro Ballito is set to go down in history, as Surfers Beach once again delivered flawless four-meter (8ft) barrels that had surfers calling some of the best waves ever surfed in, or out of competition. Two rounds of 12 (non-elimination and elimination) were completed with the winners of the non- elimination round advancing directly into the quarterfinals, while the remaining eight surfers battled through the repo charge rounds for four remaining spots in this year’s competition. Defending champion and current ASP World No. 5 Jordy Smith (Durban) showed exactly why he is a world title contender. Dusting off an old 6’4 ‘gun’ (big wave surfboard) that his dad brought down for him the day before, Smith rode two of the heaviest barrels of the day, advancing into the quarterfinals in first place. “I knew that one wave was a pretty heavy wave and I thought either I’ll get a massive score or I’ll get a massive beat down and as it turned out I got both,” Smith said.
Smith posted the highest individual wave of the day, a 9.80 (out of ten) for a throaty, set wave barrel, bursting through the suicidal closeout section to advance in first place ahead of Kieren Perrow (AUS) and Shaun Joubert (RSA). “We weren’t really battling each other out there, we were battling the ocean trying to find those perfect waves,” Smith said. “It is definitely difficult but when you get a good one, it is worth it. I’m stoked to advance straight into the quarterfinals but I wouldn’t have minded getting a few more 9.8’s either.” Pipeline specialist John John Florence (HAW) was right at home in the double-overhead surf, armed with one of his tried and tested ‘Pipe’ quiver, the 18-year-old netted the day’s highest heat total of 18.43 (out of 20.00) to earn his place into the quarterfinals. “It’s a lot like the barrels at Backdoor (right hand waves at Pipeline), it’s big and round and maybe a little bit faster and longer,” Florence said. “I came here a few years ago and it got pretty big so I brought my Pipe boards and I’m happy I did.” Air-dropping into an enormous barrel, disappearing for several seconds, Florence emerged cleanly to post a 9.50 (out of ten) taking the win over Kai Otton (AUS) and Jano Belo (BRA). “I was paddling back out when I saw that wave standup and I just air dropped straight into it, the waves are amazing and I cant wait to get back out there.” ASP World No. 27 Patrick Gudauskas (USA) looked perfectly in-tune with his equipment posting a faultless performance against proven big wave surfer Kieren Perrow (AUS). “These waves are just unbelievable, it’s one of the most enjoyable events I’ve surfed in so I’m frothing,” Gudauskas said. “I knew this wave had some juice and I’m riding a step-up designed for a more hollow, powerful wave so I’m lucky I packed it.”
Landing a critically late air-drop, Gudauskas slotted stylishly into an expansive cavern to top Perrow’s 9.27 with a 9.40 (both out of ten) and advanced into the quarterfinals where he will take on Brazil’s Junior Faria when the competition resumes. “Kieren is one of my favourite barrel riders and when I saw his nine-point ride I was stressing,” Gudauskas said. “I knew I needed a good one and luckily I stuck that drop, the wave stood up and I came flying out.” Junior Faria (BRA) found his feet in some of the toughest conditions of the morning, tucking into a rare double barrel opener for a 9.33, to advance into the quarterfinals ahead of Gudauskas and Jesse Mendes (BRA). “It’s really heavy, you cant just choose any wave to get scores because you’re going to take a long time to come back, even with the skis,” Faria said. “It’s a matter of finding one good wave in thirty minutes.” Heath Joske (AUS) completed a dream heat, riding another of the day’s standout barrels to advance with a near-perfect 9.23 ahead of Wilson (AUS) and Blake Thornton (AUS). “The waves are absolutely pumping,” Joske said. “These are waves surfers dream of surfing! You cant ask for better conditions, its amazing.” ASP World No. 30 Julian Wilson (AUS) could hardly contain his excitement when he laid eyes upon the ocean this morning. Holding nothing back Wilson made his way through repo charge round defeating Jano Belo (BRA) for a spot in the quarterfinals. “I came over with 12 boards because I’m here for three weeks and I didn’t want to run out, “ Wilson said. “I think that’s why I was so excited this morning because I had the right equipment. The waves were phenomenal! I saw some of the best waves of my life this morning, I saw one that was like 8ft Kirra (Australia) so I’m so stoked I came to this event.” Fresh off a victory in Portugal, Wilson’s new found form could see the ASP World Tour rookie prove unstoppable in Ballito tomorrow. “I had a tough start to the year and things just feel like they are clicking together now,” Wilson said. “I’ve been putting in the hard work and trying to figure out what works and it feels like I’ve found my groove. It’s awesome confidence to take to JBay.” Also advancing into the quarterfinals were Jesse Mendes who advanced ahead of Shaun Joubert (AUS) and Blake Thornton (AUS) who took down Kai Otton (AUS). With another great day of surf expected tomorrow, organisers are hoping to crown the 2011 Mr Price Pro Ballito Champion by midday.

Quarterfinals
QF 1: Junior Faria (BRA) vs Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
QF 2: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs Jesse Mendes (BRA)
QF 3: Heath Joske (AUS) vs Julian Wilson (AUS)
QF 4: John John Florence (HAW) vs Blake Thornton (AUS)

Deal Alert: Quiksilver Surf Shirts

The sun is scorching this summer (in relation to last summer in which we didn't see blue sky until October) and the water is finally warm enough (72 in La Jolla today actually) where you can FINALLY wear a surf shirt or rashguard. Quiksilver has teamed up with Seshday this week to offer all kinds of product to choose from to keep the sun off your back and the wax off your gut. You'll find most prices in the $10 to $20 range. Bam!

So what's a surf shirt and what's a rashguard you ask? Originally a rashguard was to be worn inside your wetsuit as the seam stichting inside wetsuits used to be big and bulky- picture the inside of your suit lined with rope. Literally. After a few hours in the water, that 'rope' on the seam would start to cut into you raw. Rad. So rashguards were developed to protect you from the rash. As suit technology advanced and seams become smooth, rashguards are now worn with boardshorts and used for sun protection.

The along came the Momentum generation (Slater, Dorian, Machado, etc) and they thought rashguards were too tight, so they started wearing T-shirts in the surf. But tees soaked up water and were heavy. Hence the 'surf tee' was born and made with materials that didn't absorb a lot of water.

Long story short, kids and girls usually wear rashguards (unless you're a pro on the world tour and have to wear one in a heat) and the old guys wear surf tees. But don't listen to me, what do I know. Oh- I do know this- head over to Seshday as the supply is limited and they won't last long. Just like our warm water!