Surf Check 11/29/11

Got some fun NW surf today. A little lined up for the beach breaks but good for the reefs and points. There's a little background SW too but the NW is dominant and it's not helping to peak it up. Sets look to be shoulder high and there is no wind on it. Should stay clean for the better part of the day.

Tides are starting to mellow out finally as they're sitting around 2' at sunrise, just over 5' at lunch, and back down to 0' at sunset. Water temps are hovering around 60. Things start to get interesting tomorrow as we have a cold low pressure system headed down from the north.

Wednesday starts off with some low clouds and fog as the front approaches but then the bulk of the low pressure looks to be staying over land Thursday/Friday so we won't get much in the way of showers but we will get some cold gusty offshores from it.

There is also swell behind this system so we may get some shoulder high surf again torwards Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning and cold offshores in the 15mph+ range. Inland foothill areas may have gusts up to 70mph. Temps will also be cold with daytime highs in the low 60's and nighttime temperatures in the mid-40's. Could make for a chilly dawn patrol on Thursday. But it will be worth it if the swell arrives and offshores develop. After that it's looking pretty small for the weekend and early next week as our next NW won't arrive until maybe Wednesday.

There's also some SW forecasted to flare up towards the end of this week which may give us should shoulder high surf towards next weekend the 10th. It's pretty much the opposite peak season of SW swells but anything is possible- considering we had a category 4 hurricane off Baja last week.

Clip of the Day: French Fry

Marc's Journal #9 from FMG on Vimeo.
Pretty straightforward Clip Of The Day here- just good old fashioned beach break ripping. The only difference I guess is that's from French wunderkind Marc Lacomare. It's amazing how quickly the state of surfing is changing right now- from Australians Julian Wilson/Jack Freestone to Brazilians Miguel Pupo/Gabriel Medina to Americans John John Florence/Kolohe Andino. And now France's Marc Lacomare, the 2010 World Junior Champion. The groms are coming out of the woodwork and they're tearing it up faster than any other group of kids before them AND from all corners of the earth. If you thought it was hard to copy Curren and damn near impossible to surf like Slater, don't even think about going blow for blow with this next generation.

THE Surf Report 11/25/11

Summer: The Sequel.

SURF:

No real surf this week ‘til Thanksgiving hit- then BAM! Good shoulder high NW swell lit up SD and north OC with clean conditions. The supposed weak storm that was on the charts for Thanksgiving was really weak. Lucky for us the swell and conditions coincided for good surf all day. Today we’ve got even better weather and a peaking NW with smaller Hurricane Kenneth swell underneath. The NW is most dominant so south county SD is the best bet with head high+ sets.

Luckily for us there’s more NW off the OR/WA coast this morning and it will continue feeding our NW swell through tomorrow morning. Sunday looks pretty small with waist high+ waves around town with south SD the best bet again with chest high waves. All in all it’s looking pretty fun today and tomorrow with great conditions so no complaints.

Tides as you know are pretty crazy this weekend- about 7’ at 8AM, down to -1.5’ at 3pm, and up slightly to 0’ at sunset. Make sure to choose your spots wisely! Water temps are sitting at 60. Keep up to date on the waves and weather at North County Surf/Twitter. 

FORECAST:

After the dominant NW fades Saturday, we’ve got another smaller NW lined up for Monday for chest high waves in north county SD/OC and shoulder high sets in south SD. Southern OC will be pretty small. After that it’s looking meager on the charts.

There’s some small southern hemi swell moving up the coast that will have waist high+ waves in the OC mid-week.

Then a small NW for waist high+ waves  the 2^nd half of the week in SD. And the low clouds return (more on that below) towards Wednesday. Looking like a bummer in the future.  

WEATHER:

Great weather on tap the next few days. After the weak storm rolled through yesterday morning, high pressure started to set up behind it and now we’ve got warm temps at the beaches as well as sunny skies as far as the eye can see. Combine that will fun swell today and tomorrow and you’ve got a good start to the 4 day weekend. Temps amazingly will get near 80 degrees Saturday through Monday- feels like summer around here. We’ve got a weak trough on the charts for the 2^nd half of the week and it looks like a return of the low clouds Wednesday afternoon through maybe Saturday. Combine that with small surf and it’s looking pretty ugly next weekend.

BEST BET:

Fantastic weather today and tomorrow along with good NW and smaller S underneath and you’ve got a Best Bet today AND tomorrow. The 2 pitfalls I see are the big tide swings and everyone and their brother hitting the surf over the long weekend so pick the right time and tide to paddle out!

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Now that we have a little break in the rain for the next few days, how’s our rainfall totals looking so far in this ‘dry’ La Nina winter season? Glad you asked! Here’s the latest totals:

-          John Wayne Airport (central OC). From July 1- November 24^th normal is 2.1”. To date this season we’ve had 2” (95% of normal). Last year we had 3.33” at this time. Total average rainfall is 12.76”

-          Oceanside Airport. From July 1- November 24th normal is 2.08”. To date this season we’ve had 2.84” (137% of normal). Last year we had 5.23” at this time. Total average rainfall is 12.94”

-          Lindbergh Field (downtown SD). From July 1- November 24th normal is 1.53”. To date this season we’ve had 3.71” (242% of normal). Last year we had 3.06” at this time. Total average rainfall is 10.77”

In summary- looking pretty good considering we’re supposed to be below normal because of the La Nina that’s set up shop. One note though, I’ve seen lots of winters where we get a ton of rain October to December then January to March goes dry. Let’s keep our fingers crossed the run of good rains continues through next spring.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Why should the masses get all the Black Friday deals? Check out these surf related Black(‘s Beach) Friday deals at the North County Surf blog! Or see Taylor Steele’s new video Momentum 3 (actually it’s Ross, Dorian, Rob, and Kalani surfing small Haleiwa last week). Or the mid-week Surf Check and a more detailed THE Surf Report. All of that and more in the blog below.

PIC OF THE WEEK:

Slabs are so in fashion now. Waves that are wider than they are taller are all the rage. But it seems to be getting out of hand- guys are trying to ride slabs that are 20’+ now and they can’t even paddle into them anymore. That’s why I like this old fashioned slab- a couple feet overhead, no jet skis in sight, and big enough to drive a Mac Truck (err, Honda Prius) through.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn

Six-foot-four And Full of Muscles
Ol’ St. Mick
Patenting Asymmetrical Boogie Boards

Deal Alert! Black Friday Surf Deals!

Why should Wal Mart, Target, Macy's, and Best Buy have all the fun with crazy Black Friday deals and us surfers are left out in the cold?! I say we take matters into our own hands! We need deals too! Leave it to North County Surf to scour the web to find the stuff you need- like warm wetsuits, a mini-gun for those big NW swells, and a cool watch to impress the ladies. So leave the masses to battle it out at the malls, check out these "Black ('s Beach) Friday" deals from the comfort of your bed instead:

With NW swells taking aim at us the last few weeks and more on the horizon, it's time to put the 5'8" Dumpster Diver away and put a real man's board under your arm. From one of the most respected big wave shapers in the world comes the Dick Brewer Surftech mini-gun. You don't want to be undergunned surfing big Black's this winter, so pick up one of these 6'8" beauties for the ridiculously low price of $281 at Department of Goods. Yes, I said $281. I don't even think you can get a used board for that price. And it's a Surftech so it's going to hold up year after year better than a regular board.

And what good is charging big waves this winter up and down the California coast if you're freezing your tail off? So pick up one of O'Neill's top of the line suits from Jack's Surfboards. And it's a doozy- a 3 mil Superfreak fullsuit. When a 3/2 is too cold in the dead of winter and a 4/3 feels like a straight jacket- a 3 mil is the perfect choice. Full of super stretchy neoprene, you'll probably want to wear it in summer too. And with a price of just $263 (normal is $439), it's too good to pass up. Just think, you can grab a brand new Brewer mini-gun AND a super flexible O'Neill fullsuit and charge some big Maverick's this winter for under $550. Unreal. With all the money you save, there will be extra leftover for your physical therapy sessions after the beatings you'll take in the impact zone.

After you're done charging some solid surf all day, it's time to take the lady to dinner and look good in the process. Make sure to wear some bling like this Nixon watch at Department of Goods for just $90. It will look like a million bucks to her AND you can wear it to work 'cause you get paid the big bucks.

If charging big surf, staying warm in the waves, and impressing the ladies is NOT your thing, then these Skullcandy headphones may be up your ally. Hear music the way it was meant to be heard- loud and full of bass. Seshday is offering these at an unbelievably low $24.99 (I know, sounds too good to be true- but it is Black ('s Beach) Friday you know) and they've only got a few in stock- so order them now. They'll be the perfect companion to the deal below...

And what would Black ('s Beach) Friday be without some kind of TV or computer deal?! Even though this isn't technically 'surf' related, most all of us want one (if you don't have one already) to check the surf, watch surf vids, heck- even check out the North County Surf blog. So the two best deals I found today were Best Buy at $455 on the 16GB model (that's $45 off) and Apple is rumored to be going 10% off ($450) for the same 16GB model- but we won't officially know until 12AM on Friday (which, by the time you read this, you'll know for sure the exact price). Anyway, it's still expensive as heck but worth it if you're a tech/surf nerd like myself. So Happy Thanksgiving everyone and good luck deal hunting!

Clip of the Day: Clash of the Legends!

Ok- let me put a disclaimer here on this clip- these guys were my heroes back in the day so don't expect any Pupo/Kolohe/John John tomfoolery- tricks are for kids. Instead expect old school power surfing. Well, not much power at waist high Haleiwa, but it was cool for the guys at Reef to put together a 'Momentum Generation' heat at the Reef Pro in Hawaii this week. Would have been cool to see these guys take apart 8' Hawaiian juice but alas it's been flat lately so they were left to surfing some slow little lines. Rob Machado as usual was riding some odd disc, Shane Dorian must have been surfing some giant slab weeks earlier as his foot was in a brace, Kalani Robb is still quick, and where have you been Ross Williams?! Anyway, if you want to get your nostalgia on, then check out the Clip of the Day and pretend it's 1991 again.

Surf Check 11/22/11

Great weather on tap today but not much surf unfortunately. The storm that rolled through Sunday evening only generated a little NW swell and we only had chest high waves around town with a couple bigger sets in south county SD the past few days. Today that NW swell is dropping and we've got waist high conditions with chest high sets.

Wind is currently calm and should blow out of the W around 10mph+ mid-day. Water temps are a chilly 58 degrees. And the tides are pretty extreme the next few days- about 7' at 6 AM, -1' around 2pm, and back up to 6' at sunset.

The good news is that there isn't much swell on tap for the rest of the day and into tomorrow. Why is that good news you ask? Because I'd rather have it flat during the work week and good swell for a 4 day weekend- and that's what we have on tap.

Models show a storm spinning in the Aleutians right now and seas off Oregon are around 24' and building. We should see swell off of Point Conception by tomorrow afternoon and head high sets for north county SD Thanksgiving morning and overhead sets in south county SD. The OC will have some chest high+ sets.

We also have a little weather headed our way with a weak front moving down the coast Thanksgiving day. Best bet is to hit it early Thursday (since you'll be watching football and stuffing your face anyway in the late afternoon) or get it Friday morning if you're not in a food coma. That swell fades out Friday afternoon and there's another similar sized NW on the charts for Monday with better weather lined up for next week- maybe even an offshore event mid-week.

And now to the interesting story of the day... Just when I've shut the door on the hurricane season (it is November you know- only 4 weeks to winter), Hurricane Kenneth decides to throw nature a curveball. Yes, I said hurricane. And not just a hurricane- but a category 4 hurricane- winds of 145mph. It's the strongest late hurricane on record. Completely frickin' nuts I tell you. AND it's in our swell window.

Now I'm hoping the NW swell on Thursday/Friday doesn't mess up the S swell headed our way but we may be lucky as the NW should be gone Friday afternoon and we'll start to see S swell Friday morning lasting into Saturday. We should get some head high sets from it in north county and a few feet overhead in the OC- and I'm trying to not jinx it because it's hard to believe we'll get head high+ surf from the S on Thanksgiving weekend- but that's what it's looking like. Long story short, we should have good NW on Thursdy/Friday, good S swell on Friday/Saturday, and a new NW on Monday. Stoke!

THE Surf Report 11/18/11

Calm Before The Storm 2.

SURF:

After a fun but odd swell last weekend, the past few days have been pretty small around here. Today is no different as we’ve got mainly small waist high NW and overcast conditions. The good news is that the nor-CA buoys have been picking up since yesterday and that should start filling in tomorrow morning and peaking Sunday morning.

Look for head high sets in north county SD and overhead sets in south county SD by Sunday morning. The OC will have shoulder high sets in north county and chest high waves in south county. The storm generating this swell is headed our way and models have the bulk staying offshore like last weekend’s scenario. There’s a couple slight differences between this weekend and last weekend though- the storm last weekend sat offshore for a couple days and gave us an odd short period SW swell and great conditions. This weekend’s storm will stay offshore too but not sit in one place for too long. It will also move towards us Sunday evening so we’ll get more SW winds rather than the offshore winds like last weekend. Long story short, we may get some drizzle Saturday morning with building surf and cleaner conditions and peaking swell Sunday morning- but deteriorating conditions Sunday afternoon when the storm finally comes ashore. No big deal- nice to have some rideable surf regardless of the conditions. 

Tides are pretty mellow the next few days: 3’ at sunrise, 2’ at 9am, 4’ at 3pm, and 2’ at sunset. Water temps are high 50’s. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf

FORECAST:

After the NW swell and on again/off again conditions this weekend, the first part of the week look pretty small; but we’ll have nice weather! Models are showing more activity in the Aleutians this weekend and we should have some head high+ surf for the Thanksgiving weekend (most likely Thursday and Sunday swells)- but maybe rain again. With 4 days off, I’m going to surf my brains out so I can work off that turkey/mashed potatoes/cranberry/stuffing/gravy/pie gut.

As far as the southern hemisphere goes, it's been pretty quiet down there- which is typical of course this time of year. Models show a tiny storm around the 23rd which may shoot a waist high+ SW towards the end of the month. Nothing to get excited about.

WEATHER:

As advertised above, we’ve got another storm moving down from the Aleutians but it’s staying offshore again. We should get a little brush from the storm tomorrow morning for some sprinkles then the models are showing the center of the low moving into northern Baja Sunday afternoon for some light rain here. Nothing major but just enough to add to our rain totals. The first part of next week look nice as high pressure builds for hazy sunshine then more storms are forecasted to take aim at southern California again for the Thanksgiving weekend. Too early to tell what kind of impact they’ll have but look for at least cloudy skies and showers for a few days- possibly starting on Turkey Day.

BEST BET:

With light showers Saturday morning and more shower activity Sunday evening, looks like Saturday night/Sunday morning will have the cleanest conditions. AND the peak of the NW swell. So if you’ve got a date with your girl Saturday evening, then hit it Sunday morning. Or if you’ve got a date with God Sunday morning, then hit it Saturday evening. I guess you have to ask yourself- are you a sinner or a saint? (Sorry, bad joke).

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

The thing I hate the most in surfing is red tides. Well, maybe not the worst- that would be sharks. Oh! And I hate thick fog ‘cause you can’t see the sets. Wait wait! And I hate crowds! And I hate it when it’s flat! And I hate guys in shortjohns and booties on eggs at Lowers! Where was I?... Oh! I hate red tides! Well NOAA is working on predicting the annoying red tides so we can be better prepared for them. Scientists researching harmful algal bloom “hot spots” off southern and central California have been awarded $800k+ for the first year of an anticipated 5-year 4 million dollar project to investigate methods that could provide early warning detection of the toxic blooms, also known as red tides. The research is being conducted in partnership with two U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System partners — the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System and the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System. The teams will combine the detection and monitoring of the toxic blooms with ocean models that can forecast ocean conditions, potentially leading to bloom predictions. The project will boost the capabilities of California management agencies to safeguard living resources, public health, and economies. As Gregg Langlois, senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Public Health notes, “Improving our understanding of the environmental conditions that are conducive to a toxic bloom would help focus our sampling effort so we can alert the public to dangerous toxin levels in seafood.” Some species of red tides produce a toxin that when eaten can lead to potentially fatal human illness. The toxins can also cause illness and death in marine mammals and birds. This project will allow scientists to detect and measure levels of some toxic cells in water samples, providing officials with an early warning of increased potential of shellfish. The research will also address the question of whether nutrient pollution from the land is enhancing toxic algal blooms. Research will be carried out at the University of California Santa Cruz, the University of Southern California, Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, University of California Los Angeles, and NOAA Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research. “This new effort will help us address a critical gap in past research, namely understanding the conditions leading to toxic blooms before they become a problem,” said Raphael M. Kudela, professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz and project lead. “We are particularly excited because the project combines expertise from research and state public health managers in California with the developing national observing network established by NOAA.” The study was funded through a national competition of the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Program run by NOAA’s National Ocean Service/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

What to do when there’s no surf? Read the North County Surf blog of course! Find wetsuit deals in the middle of winter. Have a gander at Mason Ho looking like the new Buttons. Mid-week Surf Checks of course. Yet another sign the recession is over- more homes being built in north county. And a more detailed THE Surf Report. All of that and more in the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

Man do these sheep have it good. All the grass they can eat. A natural wool coat to keep warm. Plenty of open land to roam around. And this slab all to themselves! Well, they can’t surf- but give ‘em enough time and evolution will solve that problem for them. For more swell Scottish pics, check out Deepzine.

Keep Surfing,

 

Michael W. Glenn

Suitable
Consoling Ashton
Eddie Invitee

North County New Business News: A New Ridge Rises To The Top

Move over Quail Ridge and La Costa Ridge. There's a new Ridge in town. We'll not yet actually- but there will be. The so-called 'Ridge' by Warmington Homes is going in on the old Chino greenhouses on Urania Ave. in Leucadia (just east of the tropical Maravu development and south of Capri Elementary school). There's been a construction permit on one of the greenhouses for the last couple of years but recently they put a fence up and about a week later the bulldozers and excavators have been ripping the place apart. Don't know the exact size of the property but it looks to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-15 acres.

One of the guys working on site thinks it's going to be about 20 homes. If that's the case, there should be some big lots- maybe 1/2 acre each once you add in streets, maybe a community park, etc. Warmington Homes is also doing another project in town called Seaside Highlands just off Encinitas Blvd. on Balour (check out my story a few weeks ago on that development here). They are also building Poinsettia Ridge in Carlsbad too (I guess 'ridge' means 'sold' in new home terms). Sounds like these new Ridge homes in Encinitas should be around $1 million and at the pace they're going, should be open sometime around March. You can check out a model actually right now at the Seaside Highlands development. It's a bummer to see the old greenhouses go (actually they were run down and overgrown the past couple of years) but I guess we can thank God they're not putting in a Wal Mart in town! Damn- too late.

Clip of the Day: My Kind of North Shore

Mrs. Mute (mho) from rory pringle @ conceptblue on Vimeo.

I know Hawaii is the proving ground and guys move over there just to dedicate their whole lives to surfing big Sunset, Pipe, or Waimea. But me- I've got a wife, kids, mortgage, and bad back so I'm just fine with 3' Turtle Bay. And wearing trunks in the middle of winter is really what it's all about for me. Take today's Clip of the Day from one of Hawaii's new favorite sons- Mason Ho- at a recent fun sized Rocky Point session. He's got quite a bloodline- father Michael a two-time Triple Crown champ (including an '82 Pipe Master when he had cast on his wrist-seriously), uncle Derek a world champ, and a 2nd cousin/uncle or something like that to legendary singer Don Ho. Oh- and his sister Coco is on the women's world tour. I was lucky to do a little work with Mason a few years ago and he came across as being a good kid- having fun surfing is priority #1. Doesn't matter if it's big or small, he'll find a way to make the best of it. Like today's clip where Mason seems to be following the style of another Hawaiian legend- Buttons Kaluhiokalani; everything from switch stance barrels to tweaked out turns. 30 years later Buttons and even Bertlemann would be proud.

Surf Check 11/15/11

Got a little bump in the NW windswell today. Winds off Pt. Conception have been blowing 30mph the last couple of days and it's resulted in waist to chest high waves around town with a couple bigger sets in south county SD.

Looks like that holds in to tomorrow. Water is high 50's (ugh) and tides are 3' at sunrise, 5.5' at 11am, and down to 0' at sunset.

Along with the NW winds off Pt. Conception, it's also kicked up an eddy condition at our local beaches and skies are overcast and it may stay that way through tomorrow.

Slight high pressure builds for Thursday into Friday morning and we get sunny skies again- but dropping surf. Friday afternoon things get interesting again as models have another storm headed our way from the Aleutians.

It could be an odd one again like last weekend where it sits offshore for a couple days and sends us first a NW swell then an odd short period SW swell (because of the storm sitting SW of us). Who knows what will happen but most likely we'll get rain again and some sort of swell. Whether or not it's epic conditions like last weekend or blown to bits from S wind is another story- we'll just have to wait and see. Can't complain one way or another- I'll take the surf!

Deal Alert! Wetsuit Deals In the Middle of Winter!

It's not exactly winter yet but it sure feels like it around here. And with another storm headed our way this weekend (more on that tomorrow with the Surf Check (TM)), you'd better stock up on some rubber. I've come across two different wetsuit deals this week and I'm here to share them with you ('cause that's the kind of guy I am). Normally you see wetsuit sales at the end of summer because no one wants a 4/3 for 70 degree water. But there must be a little excess stock at Hyperflex and Xcel this month because there are big deals to be had. First up is Hyperflex Wetsuits. Seshday is unlocking the vault again and there's some rock bottom deals. Like a quality 4/3 for just $69.99. I didn't say $369 or even $169- but rather $69. Less than a dinner at Chart House with a girl you're probably going to dump anyway. Or go for the top of the line 4/3 and spend just $135. Heck- at these prices they're almost disposable! After a solid session, just toss it! Just kidding of course, but you won't feel as bad when you leave it in the parking lot at Trestles by accident and don't realize it's gone until you get home.

Anyway, I'm getting off track here. Seshday is also offering 3/2's, 5/4/3's, women's rashguards for $13, and jackets for $33. Get something for the whole family while you're at it.

Or maybe you want Hawaii type warmth from your wetsuit. Then head over to Department of Goods and check out Hawaii's own Xcel Wetsuits. They've got a 4/3 with a hood that was originally $450 for now just $247. Or keep it simple and get a 3/2 for just $80. No matter if you're Hyperflex bro or a Xcel bruddah, everyone wins. As advertised above, storms are taking aim at California this week (so much for that La Nina) so get a new suit now!