June Gloom has spited me.
SURF:
Just as soon as I declared June Gloom a distant memory, it
reared it’s ugly head on Tuesday. As Death Valley hit 125 today, the beaches
sat in a haze of low clouds and struggled to hit 65 degrees. I guess it’s
better than a scorching 125 (there’s a reason the word ‘Death’ is part of the
region’s name). Regardless, as the sun disappeared the latter part of this
week, the surf did too.
Fun, sunny, chest high+ SW early in the week was
replaced by low clouds and waist high+ SW/NW. At least the N winds earlier in
the week switched to the S. N winds as you know bring upwelling and cooler
water temps; S winds pool the water into the Southern CA bight and warm up the
water thankfully. We hit a high of 70 in the water last week, cooled slightly
to 67 yesterday, but are on the rebound today and should hit 70 by Sunday
again. Now that we have that out of the way, what’s the weekend forecast look
like?
Glad you asked; we had a small storm off Antarctica last week which has
sent us a small but fun SW swell filling in tomorrow and peaking Saturday.
There is also some small NW windswell to cross things up and we’ll have chest
high surf for the weekend. Skies should also clear by lunchtime at the beaches
for the weekend so it will be a good time to set up an umbrella, bring a couple
boards down to the sand, and get groove on.
Tides for the weekend are around
3.5’ in the mornings, down to 1.5’ at lunch, and up to 5.5’ at sunset.
FORECAST:
The weekend’s SW/NW back off early in the week for waist
high surf but we have another slowly building reinforcement out of the SW on
Wednesday for chest high sets and more NW on Thursday. The SW continues to
build through the weekend for shoulder high sets towards the OC as the NW backs
off next weekend. There’s also a small possibility of small tropical swell from
Baja but the forecast models haven’t been too favorable with this system. So
until then, enjoy the fun sized SW and NW swells.
WEATHER:
As mentioned above, I totally jinxed us by declaring June
Gloom was dead. Sure, the beaches had a peak of sun here and there this week,
but it wasn’t as nice as it’s been the past 2 months. Thankfully the joke me
may be over as high pressure settles over the 4 Corners this weekend and the
marine layer will shrink slightly- just enough for the sun to make an
appearance by lunch. That looks to be the scenario most of next week too with
temps in the low to mid-70’s. Sounds good to me. Make sure to keep up to date
on the latest conditions at Twitter/North County Surf.
BEST BET:
Fun combo swell this weekend, nice weather, and water temps
near 70. Or late next week with a slightly bigger SW swell in the shoulder high
range.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Ever heard of the Great Pacific garbage patch (also described
as the Pacific trash vortex)? It’s a gyre of marine debris particles (i.e.
trash) in the central North Pacific Ocean discovered in the mid-to-late 80’s. Well,
it’s now bigger than it’s ever been, covering an area almost 1 million square
miles above Hawaii. That’s up to 16 times larger than previous estimates had
suggested, and its growth shows no signs of slowing. The patch, which is
littered with tens of thousands of tons of floating garbage, is perhaps the
most obvious reminder that mankind has truly messed up this planet. Thank
goodness for Elon Musk and his plans for Mars!
The newest survey, which was conducted by The Ocean Cleanup
Foundation, was authored by over a dozen international scientists and aided by
countless volunteers and researchers attempting to capture the full scope of
the crisis. It is now estimated that as many as 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic
make up the patch, which is a colossal cleanup task that most nations seem
satisfied to ignore.
Back in the 80’s, sailors came across chunks of
free-floating chemical sludge, plastics, and other debris congregating in one
particular area of the Pacific. Today, scientists know that the patch is the
result of a combination of ocean currents that corral tons of manmade trash
into a vortex of sorts. It covers an absolutely huge area, comparable to three
times the size of France, or twice the size of Texas.
Contrary to what many believe, the patch isn’t a garbage
island, but rather a massive area of the Pacific that has an incredibly high
plastic density. Plastic trash which has broken up over time turns into smaller
chunks that now fill the patch. Discarded fishing nets, bottles, and buckets,
and countless unidentifiable plastic chunks have been pushed into this one
area, and it’s a death sentence for many marine animals and aquatic birds.
According to the researchers, up to 46% of the trash is the
byproduct of the fishing industry, with many nets and crates littering the
patch and breaking down into smaller chunks over time. Eventually, all the
larger pieces of plastic will become microplastics which are deadly to fish and
other marine life. And it’s not just about protecting the ocean ecosystem, as
many contaminated fish are often caught and end up on dinner tables. Unless you
like your fish sandwich with a side of invisible plastic particles, this is
something we all need to be paying attention to.
BEST OF THE BLOG:
If you’re a surfer and love your community, you need to be
part of the North County Board Meeting! As I’ve mentioned in THE Surf Report in
the past, the goals of the group are:
- promote local businesses
- grow your network
- support charities
- and find an excuse to surf!
If you’d like to get involved, our next event is our world
famous Surf Meeting, happening tomorrow morning (Friday), June 22nd from 7-9
AM. Come down to Seaside to catch a wave before work, grab some breakfast,
network, learn about our community involvement, and just start the weekend
right. Look for the green tent and the demo boards from SUPERbrand and INT! For
more info on the group, visit our website here, check us out on LinkedIn , or follow us on that Twitter thing.
And speaking of SUPERbrand (long-time supporters of the
North County Board Meeting), they are offering 25% off apparel at their website! Make sure to use promo code NORTHCOUNTYSURF25. Now
that the water’s warm, there’s no excuse not to get a pair of new boardies for
the summer. Or replace that ratty Van Halen t-shirt of yours. This sale won’t
last long- it expires June 30th- so get on it ASAP! Thanks to the
crew at SUPERbrand for the killer apparel offer to get our summer kickstarted!
PIC OF THE WEEK:
Reason #237,384 to move to New Zealand.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Dapper
Quit My Job To Play Fortnite 24/7
Found A Wave That’s Twice As Good Padang Padang So I Named
It Padang Padang Padang Padang
