Strike Up The Band! The Circus Is Back!

With all the turmoil in the surf industry lately (Quik cutting their teams, Billabong being up for sale, K5 going out of business, etc), it's good to see a little normalcy again with the circus returning to Australia's Gold Coast March 2nd (about 2pm our time on March 1st). Yes, the Association of Surfing Professionals is kicking off their world tour again at Snapper Rocks. Or actually down the street at Rainbow Bay maybe- it looks like as there is a big 'ol hole out in the Snapper line up that was dug up from a recent cyclone. Regardless, it will still be rippable as they have new swell filling in and there's a few new faces on tour this year plus some intriguing story lines. Like...

Parko's got his 1st world title! One of the nicest guys on tour and definitely the most stylish has slugged it out on tour for 11 years now. And now that he's tasted victory, does he know what it takes to make it multiple titles? Seems like once guys figure it out, they run off a few- like Carroll, Curren, MR, Fanning, Hardman, AI, and Slater of course.

Speaking of Slater, he's already won 26 world titles (or something like that) so it will be interesting to see if he still has the desire. After coming in a close 2nd last year from a narrow run at Pipeline, is he over it and would rather be an ambassador now?

Wildcard! Quiksilver was nice enough to grant Dane Reynolds a wildcard into the event (ok, he's a Quik team rider, one of the best surfers on the planet, and there would be looting and pillaging if Dane wasn't there to entertain the spectators-

kind of a like a monkey on a leash with one of those organ street vendors. Anyway, Dane won't give a crap as usual, blow up in a few heats, and remind everyone why he needs to get out of Ventura more often and get back on tour to wow us again.

So what about the boy who would be king? John John was more impressive than advertised last year and signed a massive contract recently with Hurley. Will all the pressure and monumental expectations get to him this year? Or does he still have that sense of bewilderment and will tear apart Snapper like it's a freesurf on his way to a world title?

And what about the young guns like Sebastian Zietz and Nat Young. 2 guys who have been on the radar for awhile in the mags and WQS but finally cracked the world tour this year. Especially Nat Young- seems like this guy's been around since the 70's. I stand corrected though as his profile on the ASP website says he's only been alive since 1991. Odd. Regardless, it may take Sea Bass and The Animal to get their sea legs under them the first few contest so don't expect any upsets on the Gold Coast.

Make sure to check out the contest this weekend at Quiksilver's event website here.

Surf Check

Beautiful day out there again. We had some fun leftover waves this morning from the NW- about stomach high- with some chest high sets in SD. The wind is pretty mellow this afternoon from the W at 8.

Tides the next few days are 2' at sunrise, up to 5' mid-morning, and down to 0' late afternoon.

The weather is going to be fantastic the rest of the week as high pressure is in control and the winds will be light. Looks like by Friday we may have temps close to 80 at the beaches- while the water temps still hang at 57 though. Not time for trunks yet.

So what's happening with the surf the next few days? We'll we've got swells from the NW and SW headed our way. Unfortunately the storms in the southern hemisphere haven't been that big nor aimed N at us and the storms in the Aleutians right now have been blocked by our high pressure so we're just getting glancing blows. But with the great weather and a little bit of combo swell, it will be fun nonetheless.

Long story short we had a storm in the southern hemisphere rumble along last week then hiccup and then kept rumbling along. We should start to see some SW fill in tomorrow (best for the OC) with some chest high sets. Then a little more reinforcement towards the 2nd half of this week. Just in time for a little NW swell to show up on Thursday. Look for most spots to be chest high+ and peaky with great weather.

Then by Sunday we get another reinforcement out of the NW for chest high waves in north county SD and some shoulder high sets in SD.

Unfortunately high pressure starts to break down slightly on Sunday evening for a return of low clouds at the coast (no rain in sight though) but we still should have nice seasonal weather. All the while the north Pacific is still looking active and we may get another NW towards the middle of next week while the southern hemisphere works on sending us another SW swell towards next weekend the 9th. Nothing huge from all these storms but at least we should have swells coming from a variety of directions every few days. Not too shabby.

THE Surf Report

Back to normal.

SURF:
After a burly week we're left with normal conditions around here again. Just clear cold winter weather.

Today we have clean conditions and leftover swell from the storm with chest high NW sets. SD has the odd shoulder high set and the OC is around waist high. The swell drops even further tomorrow but we're left with great sunny weather and temps in the low 60's- still a good day to get outside.

By Sunday we get a small reinforcement out of the NW and some offshore winds in the morning. Look for chest high sets and great conditions. All in all little surf this weekend and nice weather.

Water temps are still 57 and tides the next few days are 5.5' at sunrise, down to -1' mid-afternoon, and just about 2' at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves/weather at Twitter/North County Surf.

FORECAST:

After the little NW on Sunday, that swell lingers into Monday and by Tuesday/Wednesday it looks pretty small around here. We get a little bump on Thursday from the NW again for shoulder high sets and a couple head high sets in SD. The OC is stuck around waist high. Charts though do show some more NW for next weekend.

And the southern hemisphere is trying to come to life but it's still not organized completely. Even though the OC won't get much NW next week, there may be some inconsistent chest high sets from the SW late Monday into Tuesday of next week. There's another storm trying to form down there this weekend that may give the OC a better shoulder high SW towards 3/4/13 and north county SD some chest high waves. Looks like a little bit of everything coming our way in the next 10 days.

WEATHER:

The excitement is over. No more hail, gusty winds, or downpours in the near future. We've got great weather on tap today- albeit cool, then a weak front moves through the Rockies and we may get some breezy NW winds Saturday afternoon. That turns offshore Sunday morning and things stabilize after that- the first part of the work week will be cool and clear with temps in the low 60's then a slight warm up to the high 60's late next week.

BEST BET:
Hard to say- nothing too big coming our way but lots of it. Maybe Sunday with the new NW or maybe Tuesday for the OC with a little SW or maybe next Thursday with the new small NW for SD. My head is spinning.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Considering this has been the most boring winter around here ever (thank you Non-El Nino aka El Non-O), I thought I'd post some facts on The Surf Report today of what a real winter looks like around here. Here's a sampling of weather facts from the 3rd week of February through out recorded history:

2000: Heavy rain caused lots of flooding and mud slides. Roads were washed out in Hemet. 18 inches of snow fell in Forest Falls in the San Bernardino Mountains. A tornado hit Anaheim Hills and caused property damage. Winds gusted to 75 mph along Highway 91 in Riverside county. Pines blew over at Lake Arrowhead.

1983: It rained for nine consecutive days (the most on record) in San Diego, Riverside and Palm Springs from 2/26 to 3/6

1980: Six storms hit Southern California. 12.75” of rain was measured in LA. 30 were killed in widespread floods and mud slides. Roads and hundreds of homes were destroyed or damaged. Mission Valley was completely inundated between Friars Rd. and I-8. Large waves hit coast during this stormy period, causing coastal flooding at Mission Beach, including water over the boardwalk and into houses.

1977: It was 86° at Victorville, the highest temperature on record for February.

1972: It was 77° at Palomar Mountain, the highest temperature on record for February. This also occurred on 2/13/1971.

1969: Up to 30 inches of precipitation fell on the south slopes of Mt. San Gorgonio. 21 died from flooding and mud slides all over California. An entire family was killed in Mt. Baldy Village when a mud slide hit their home. In the upper desert farmlands became lakes and more than 100 homes along the Mojave River were damaged. Roads and bridges recently repaired from January’s El Nino storm damage either washed out or were destroyed again.

1953: It was 24° in Palm Springs, the lowest temperature on record for February.

1944: A heavy storm struck San Bernardino County. Several snow slides, some 50 to 60 feet high, obliterated parts of the Rim of the World Highway.

1943: Heavy rainstorms hit the San Bernardino Mountains and Inland Empire starting on this day until 2/24. For the stormy period Lake Arrowhead received 13.36 inches

1891: A prolonged storm dropped 33 inches of rain in Descanso within a 60 hour period. 2.56 inches fell in San Diego.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Heard all the controversy with Spy's new 'Happy Lens' technology? Seems as though a few months ago they put up a few billboards with slogans like 'Happy to Sit On Your Face' and 'Happiness is Coming'. Funny. Turns out, they didn't need all the hype- the shades are pretty darn good. See what all the fuss is about on the North County Surf Blog. And of course a mid-week Surf Check AND an in-depth THE Surf Report. All of that and more in the blog below!


PIC OF THE WEEK:

Sure we all know Europe's got a ton of good surf in Spain, England, France, Portugal, and Ireland. But what about those little out of the way countries Pat O' and Kelly visited in The Drive Thru Europe? In addition to great food and the some of the world's best nightlife, Italy and Greece can hold their own sometimes in the surf department as evident by these grainy photos I smuggled out the countries. 

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Model Citizen
I'm Your #1 Fan
Me and Mick are Going to Wing on Over to London and Jam with the Stones

Surf Check

If you think it's messy now, just wait. The shot above was from this morning. Not too out of control and the wind was only blowing S at 5mph.

If you got up early, you probably got some fun chest high waves. Then the clouds got thicker, the rain started to come down and now the wind is blowing 10mph from the WSW and will hit 25mph tonight. Along with the wind will come big jumbled stormsurf.

Models show 15-18' surf offshore tomorrow and most likely 8-10' whitecaps here.

Not that you'd want to surf any of it tomorrow as the water will be dirty from the rain runoff. Rain will get heavier tonight with up to 1/2" possible and 6-12" of snow in the local mountains above 4,000 feet and almost 24" above 7,000 feet. Winds will also cause problems with gusts over 30mph at the coast and over 60mph in the mountains. This should all clear up by Wednesday evening with cool clear conditions the rest of the week.

Tides the next few days are about 5' at sunrise, down to 0' after lunch, and back up slightly to 3' at sunset.

The stormsurf should be gone late Thursday and by Friday/Saturday it will be considerably smaller. By Sunday, the chart above shows a N swell coming down the coast and we may only get a glancing blow for chest high sets.

The southern hemisphere has been trying to get it's act together recently but just hasn't put been that impressive yet. The chart above shows a broad system forming tomorrow but it's not that big, organized, or aimed N at us. If we do get anything, maybe the OC will have some chest high waves around the 26th. All in all some messy surf the next few days; maybe wait for late Thursday or late Sunday for a couple clean little waves.

 

Surf Product Review: The Spy Happy Lens

There are all kinds of iconic signs in Encinitas- the Surfing Madonna at Surfy Surfy, Lou's Records and the upcoming music releases,  the mosaic under the lookout at Stonesteps, the Kook Cafe mural, and plenty more over the years. Most recently is the billboards Spy Optic put up in downtown Encinitas to tout their new 'Happy' lens technology. Funny, the lenses are good enough to sell themselves but the controversial signs were an added bonus. So I had to find out what all the fuss was about. Was it a genuine new lens technology? Or was it just hype like the Webs fad in the 80's (I personally never wore Webs- well, not longer than a few months that is). Anyway, I gave a shout to my friend Steven Spy, CEO at Spy Optic in Carlsbad, and asked him if this was another fad or was there something about Happy technology that would change the face of sunglasses.

He gave me the straight scoop: "Spy Happy Lens technology lets in the good long-wave blue light that promotes balance in the body's circadian rhythm, blocks the harmful bad rays, and combines crisp, color contrast-enhancing lenses and Trident Polarization for the ultimate viewing experience." Basically Spy's Happy lens is the only one designed to maximize the transmission of the sun's 'Good Ray's. Why is that important you ask? Studies have shown that these good rays promote balance in the body, fostering a positive uplift in mood and alertness.

So me and the groms decided to head out to Moonlight Beach this weekend and test out their theory. First off, I had to laugh when I slipped on the sunglasses. Remember when you were little and in a bad mood and your mom would tell you 'Don't smile! I mean it! Don't smile!' And of course you had to stop being a grump and smile at the absurdity of it all. Well, when I slipped on the shades and thought I was going to be overwhelmed with 'Good Rays' in my brain, I had to laugh. So I guess in that aspect, Spy already won me over at that point. It should also be noted the weather was pretty darn spectacular this weekend so I was in a good mood to start with. Or was it the shades? Regardless, the lenses were clear as could be- I have to admit I've been wearing some competitor's shades this past year and they weren't even close. So the Happy lenses are worth the money just on that fact alone.

The next step was to let the groms wear 'em and see if it made any difference in their attitude. Basically they like to take jabs at each other all day, then they start wrestling, then someone starts crying, and then I wonder why I had kids in the first place. And wouldn't you know it, in Who-ville they say, that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day! I've never seen such harmony between brothers. Or maybe they were stoked to be wearing dad's cool shades. Regardless, something worked.

If you don't believe my testimonials, then try 'em out yourself. I wore the 'General' this weekend and they were lightweight, clearer than my HD TV, and sat comfortably on my noggin. Check out all 22 styles with Happy technology on Spy's site here. They range in price from $139.95 to $200 and can be found at Hansen's, Sun Diego, Encinitas Surfboards, Surfride, Mitch's, Rusty, etc. etc. etc.

 

And special thanks to Michael Marckx- the real CEO at Spy (Steven Spy was a joke you know) for the R&D of the shades. Don't think you're getting them back. 

THE Surf Report

Duck!

SURF:
Where do I start? It seems like the upcoming week has a little of everything being thrown at us. First up is today and Saturday.

High pressure is in control and blocking our storms and hence keeping the swells away. Look for waist high sets towards SD. On the flip side, high pressure is also giving the OC some offshore 'Santa Ana' winds and to a lesser extent SD. Just no surf to make good use of the winds.

By Sunday high pressure starts to break down, the fog returns, and we get our next NW swell. Should have some shoulder high sets later in the day so all is not lost this weekend.

Water temps are still 57 and tides the next few days are pretty mellow; 1.4' at 8am, 2.8' at 2pm, and just about 2' at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves/weather at Twitter/North County Surf. 

FORECAST:

After high pressure breaks down this weekend and the fog/surf returns, we have more of the same on Monday. By Tuesday, the storm door is open and in comes the rain and wind as well as solid overhead storm surf. We may get a clean break Thursday morning then later in the day and into Friday more junky NW chest high NW swell/showers.

And as we head into the spring, the southern hemisphere is starting to come to life. Charts a couple days ago had a solid storm forming but have since backed off slightly as the forecasted storm looks smaller and moving more E to W (not ideally pointed N at us). I'm hoping we do though get some chest high SW in the OC towards the 26th of February and kicking in a little better towards the 28th.

WEATHER:

Enjoy the nice weather while you can. We've got  high pressure in control through Saturday and temps in the mid-70's at the beaches. Then high pressure starts to retreat Sunday/Monday and the low clouds/fog return. By Tuesday we've got rain and wind in store for the area. Models aren't in good agreement on the strength of the storm but I'm guessing it's will be a typical winter storm with about 1/4"-1/2" of rain and wind gusts around 20mph. We get a little break Thursday morning and maybe another weaker storm with showers for Friday. Basically we're looking at cooler unsettled weather next week.

BEST BET:
Even though the fog returns on Sunday, we do get a new NW swell and clean conditions. Can't beat that.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

The El Nino that was supposed to form this winter turned out to be a dud of course. But I was at least hoping we'd have a normal rainfall season. So how are we looking with just a few weeks left of winter?:
-Newport Beach: 4.55" of rain so far. Normal by this time of year is 8.36". That leaves us at 54% of where we should be.
-Oceanside: 5.24" of rain so far. Normal this time of year is 8.15". That leaves us at 64% of where we should be.
-San Diego: 4.65" of rain so far. Normal this time of year is 6.27". That leaves us at 74% of where we should be.
As you can see we're pretty far behind and need to play catch up. With the storms next week not being that big, we may only add another 1/2" of rain which may get us to 75-80% of normal- still a long way off. With spring around the corner, we can only hope March and April dump buckets around here. The new desalination plant in Carlsbad isn't sounding so bad right about now.
 
BEST OF THE BLOG:

The 'Next Big Thing' gets thrown out a lot (heck, I was even called the next Tom Curren when I was younger, then I hit my 20's and everyone said I could give Slater a run for his money, and recently people started calling me the 'Goofyfoot Dane Reynolds'. But all of that is a story for another time). So when everyone starts calling a kid the Real Deal, you get a little skeptical. Well John John is the real deal- from 2' to 20'. His signature film 'Done' is premiering on the mainland this weekend in Encinitas. Check out the details on the North County Surf Blog. And of course a mid-week Surf Check AND an in-depth THE Surf Report. All of that and more in the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

I've said it before and I'll say it again- I love how the surf media jumps on the 'hot new surf spot', blows it out, then discards it for the next hot new surf spot. Weren't we all in love with Isla Natividad years ago, the Superbank, Todos Santos, Ours, P-Pass, and now Keramas?! One spot that has gotten overlooked- but is still cranking out smokin' tubes- is Cloud 9. Remember Taylor Knox and Evan Slater getting pitted out of their minds there back in the early 90's? That wave is still there. Just less photographers now.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
The Next Big Thing After The Next Big Thing
Carnival Cruise Director
First to Glass a Surfboard With Glass

Clip of the Day: 2 Johns and a Pigeon

By now you've probably heard the hype on John John Florence- heck- he's been in the media spotlight since he was at least 5 years old. I was fortunate to be at O'Neill a few years ago and helped work on a film called the 'Ke Nui Chronicles'. It featured a pre-teen John John surfing backside barrels in Indo- no hands no less, fearlessly charging Pipe as if he was the next Dane Kealoha, and busting airs at Lowers like he was in a 'CT event. It looked like he was 21, not 12. Fast forward 7 years to a 19 year old John, and he looks even better than advertised. From his 'CT win in Brazil last year, to his multiple 'QS wins at Pipe, to his 'freesurf' session at monstrous Cloudbreak,
he's the complete package. That's what always impressed me about guys like Dorian, Slater, and Andy- they can throw down tricks in 2' slop then the next day charge massive outer reef 20' bombs. That's why they're considered some of the greatest ever. And John John is headed down that path. So what does that have to do with the Clip of the Day?! Well John John has had friend Blake Kuehny film him the past year and they put together one hell of a short film called 'Done'.

It's premiering on the mainland this weekend- guess where? Where else? The greatest surf theatre of all time- La Paloma in downtown Encinitas- and there's two shows this Saturday the 16th- 7pm and 9pm. John John just signed a multi-million deal with Hurley so the shows this weekend are free (actually I think Nixon is throwing down). And since this is going to be the best surfing you've ever seen to date (no offense Dane- you need to put some sketchy waves in your repertoire)- expect it to be sold out- so get there early. Looks like Nixon in downtown Encinitas is giving away tickets this Friday or you can get them when the doors open at the La Paloma on Saturday. Long story short, get there early and enjoy the ride. Ps- La Paloma means 'pigeon' in Spanish in case you were wondering about the obsure title from the Clip of the Day. I didn't get it either...

Surf Check

And the train keeps on rollin'. After a fun weekend of WNW surf, we have another reinforcement filling in today. Spots around town have head high sets this morning and down towards SD there's overhead+ sets. The air is clear and cold again this morning with temps near 40 and the water isn't much better at 56. Looking pretty fun out there today.

Tides the next few days are 2' at sunrise, peaking at 5.5' mid-morning, then dropping to -0.5' right before sunset.

Our weather the next few days looks fantastic as high pressure is in control for sunny skies. The only downside is the cold temps with low 40's in the morning and low 60's during the day. As luck would have it though, high pressure strengthens a little more at the end of the week and we get temps near 70 at the beaches. Towards Sunday though high pressure starts to break down and the return of fog looks imminent. By Tuesday we may get another shot of rain.

With high pressure in control that unfortunately means 1 thing- blocking our swell producing storms. Looks like the end of the work week is pretty small around here.

With high pressure breaking down on Sunday though that fortunately means 1 thing- the return of swells! As the next storm approaches, we get a shot of more head high NW swell filling in on Sunday. Sure it may be foggy/overcast but it's better than no surf, right?

Charts in the southern hemisphere are also showing a fairly large band of clouds trying to organize about a week out. If everything holds together, may we actually see a good SW swell towards the end of the month? Keep an eye on Twitter/North County Surf for all the latest updates!