Please hold for the next available swell.
SURF:
Fun little combo swells the past week with the emphasis on the word little. The OC picked up the SW swell better than us but other than that it hasn't been firing. Nice weather and water temps though. Today we have more small SW/NW combo swell for waist high waves and the odd chest high set in the OC.
FORECAST:
The fun SW/NW holds into Monday then Tuesday looks a little small. After that: Flat. No seriously. Flat. We didn't have any storms in the southern or northern hemispheres last week so it's looking tiny until through AT LEAST next weekend. Awesome! Almost makes you want to plunk down $1k and buy an airplane ticket to the Wavegarden in Spain.
WEATHER:
It's June and we still don't have the full blown June Gloom effect we're used to. But hey- it was 100 degrees a few times last month so I don't expect anything normal anymore. Nice weather the past few days will continue this weekend but the low clouds/fog will be a little more persistent today and tomorrow. High pressure builds slightly on Sunday for great weather. That lasts into mid-week. Then we get a little more persistent low clouds/fog again then afternoon sunshine and temps in the mid-70's. No fire weather in sight thank goodness.
BEST BET:
Sunday. Combo swell filling in and best weather of the week. After that: zilch.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
One thing surfers have known for quite some time but scientists have just figured out: The cheapest, most effective way to protect coastal cities from storms and erosion?: Reefs. Build all the flood walls you want, construct all the jetties you can muster; nature already found the best way to protect us from growing storm surges and climate change. Bonus: They're also cheaper. Nature magazine this week is reporting the following:
As coastal cities prepare for rising waters, they should keep in mind that sometimes natural solutions can be the most effective. In a recent study, researchers found that coral reefs could dramatically decrease the effects of waves and storm surges made worse by climate change. In fact, they cut down on wave energy--a measure of the energy transferred in the ocean from wind to waves--by 97% At $1,290 per meter for restoration projects, coral is also significantly cheaper than other forms of protection, like artificial breakwaters, which break down to a cost of $19,791 per meter.
The study is the first to look at how coral reefs can contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation across the world's oceans. The researchers used data from 255 studies that gauged the link between coral reefs in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and reductions in wave energy. The three reef environments they analyzed--reef flat, reef crest, and whole reef--were all effective, with each dissipating 65% of wave energy, 86% of wave energy and 97% of wave energy respectively. They each also dramatically cut down on wave height.
While the researchers found that coral reef restoration is cheaper to implement than artificial protections against rising tides, they admit that a full cost-benefit analysis is still needed.
As living structures, reefs have the potential for self-repair and thus lower maintenance costs as compared with artificial structures, but reef restoration is still a comparatively new field. Most measures of reef restoration projects are limited to just the time period in which a project is constructed (that is, one funding cycle) particularly in developing countries where most reef restoration occurs. The addition of ecosystem benefits and considerations of maintenance costs in a full benefit: cost analysis would likely add to the relative cost effectiveness of reefs for coastal defense. Maddeningly enough, coral reefs are deeply threatened by climate change. So in addition to restoration, anyone concerned about the future of coastal cities also needs to think about coral reef conservation.
BEST OF THE BLOG:
I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by. Oh my my. I'm your ice cream man, stop me when I'm passin' by. See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy. Confused? Make sure to check out the coolest ice cream man at the beach (next to Diamond Dave of course), on the North County Surf blog. As well as 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 shown this spot a few times over the years from various angles. And for those of you in the know- it's not California. But if you were wondering what California looked like before the strip malls, Starbucks on every corner, and crowded line-ups, here's a glimpse into the past. Now would you go back in time to surf this circa 1930 when all you had was a 100 pound solid wood board and no wetsuit in the middle of winter? Catch 22 isn't it?
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
So Rad
Suffered from Heat Exhaustion Last Night
'98 Grand Slam Champ: ESA, NSSA, WSA, & Surfing America Title Holder
