Where do we go from here?
SURF:
Wow. Where do I start? That was a wild few days of surf.
Saw some fun waves on Sunday afternoon, then really good waves on Monday, and then all heck broke loose on Tuesday. All the while water temps dipped to the high 60's from the NW wind early in the week and rebounded to an amazing 78 degrees in La Jolla yesterday (and for those of you keeping score, that was 1 degree warmer than Waimea Bay and 20 degrees warmer than San Fran). Today the SW swell started to subside but was still plenty fun. For tomorrow and through the weekend unfortunately, the SW swell will continue to drop about a foot each day. Look for shoulder high sets tomorrow morning and down to waist high+ by Sunday. Alas, all good things must come to an end. Did I mention the water was warm?
As far as the tides go, look for 1' about sunrise, up to 4' mid-morning, down to 2' mid-afternoon, and up to 5' at sunset.
FORECAST:
If you've read my report over the years, you've heard my theory that as the earth goes through this global warming phase (either man-made or a natural cycle depending on who you voted for), the weather tends to be all or nothing. So in our winters recently, we'll get a big storm- then nothing for a few months. And in the case of this big swell we just had- crickets next week and beyond.
No storms from the southern hemisphere or off Baja lately means small surf for us for at least a couple weeks.
We may get a little waist high+ pulse from the SW again on Thursday and MAYBE chest high sets towards next weekend- but that's it. At least the groms can paddle back out now. Hopefully the tropics will kick in between now and then and a hurricane will save us.
WEATHER:
Before you complain about how hot your house has been at night lately and you can't sleep (for those of us without AC), just know that Death Valley this week has been around 100 degrees. At night. Crikey. So I'll take 70 degrees at the coast at midnight. As you know by now, we've had quite the heat wave the past few days and temps will start to back off slowly through the weekend. Looks for beach weather to be around 80 by Sunday and next week the mid-70's. Patchy fog may stick around the coast each day and thunderstorm activity will increase during the week as high pressure wanes. I guess as the surf drops, so too will the temperatures. Make sure to keep up to date on the latest conditions at Twitter/North County Surf.
BEST BET:
You're looking at it- get the leftovers today before Mother Nature throws the remnant swell in the trash.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Sharks are all the rage right now. Last week there was a 17’ Great White spotted off San Clemente, the summer blockbuster that started it all, Jaws, was showing at the historic La Paloma this month and if you don’t know by now, we’re in the midst of the Discovery Channel’s 30th anniversary of Shark Week! And if you’ve been at the movies lately, you’ve probably seen the gawd awful trailer for The Meg, Jason Statham’s cash grab this summer in which he's chased around by a 75’ prehistoric shark. So with all of this, I thought it was a perfect time to break out a little trivia about the men in the gray suits…
1. Sharks do not have bones.
Sharks use their gills to filter oxygen from the water. They are a special type of fish known "elasmobranch", which translates into fish made of catilaginous tissues—the clear gristly stuff that your ears and nose tip are made of. This category also includes rays, sawfish, and skates. Their cartilaginous skeletons are much lighter than true bone and their large livers are full of low-density oils, both helping them to be buoyant. Even though sharks don't have bones, they still can fossilize. As most sharks age, they deposit calcium salts in their skeletal cartilage to strengthen it. The dried jaws of a shark appear and feel heavy and solid; much like bone. These same minerals allow most shark skeletal systems to fossilize quite nicely. The teeth have enamel so they show up in the fossil record too.
2. Most sharks have good eyesight.
Most sharks can see well in dark lighted areas, have fantastic night vision, and can see colors. The back of sharks’ eyeballs have a reflective layer of tissue called a tapetum. This helps sharks see extremely well with little light.
3. Sharks have special electroreceptor organs.
Sharks have small black spots near the nose, eyes, and mouth. These spots are the ampullae of Lorenzini – special electroreceptor organs that allow the shark to sense electromagnetic fields and temperature shifts in the ocean.
4. Shark skin feels similar to sandpaper.
Shark skin feels exactly like sandpaper because it is made up of tiny teeth-like structures called placoid scales, also known as dermal denticles. These scales point towards the tail and help reduce friction from surrounding water when the shark swims.
5. Sharks can go into a trance.
When you flip a shark upside down they go into a trance like state called tonic immobility. This is the reason why you often see sawfish flipped over when scientists are working on them in the water.
6. Sharks have been around a very long time.
Based on fossil scales found in Australia and the United States, scientists hypothesize sharks first appeared in the ocean around 455 million years ago.
7. Scientists age sharks by counting the rings on their vertebrae.
Vertebrae contain concentric pairs of opaque and translucent bands. Band pairs are counted like rings on a tree and then scientists assign an age to the shark based on the count. Thus, if the vertebrae has 10 band pairs, it is assumed to be 10 years old. Recent studies, however, have shown that this assumption is not always correct. Researchers must therefore study each species and size class to determine how often the band pairs are deposited because the deposition rate may change over time. Determining the actual rate that the bands are deposited is called "validation".
8. Blue sharks are really blue.
The blue shark displays a brilliant blue color on the upper portion of its body and is normally snowy white beneath. The mako and porbeagle sharks also exhibit a blue coloration, but it is not nearly as brilliant as that of a blue shark. In life, most sharks are brown, olive, or grayish.
9. Each whale shark’s spot pattern is unique as a fingerprint.
Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the ocean. They can grow to 12.2 meters and weigh as much as 40 tons by some estimates! Basking sharks are the world's second largest fish, growing as long as 32 feet and weighing more than five tons.
10. Some species of sharks have a spiracle that allows them to pull water into their respiratory system while at rest. Most sharks have to keep swimming to pump water over their gills.
A shark's spiracle is located just behind the eyes which supplies oxygen directly to the shark's eyes and brain. Bottom dwelling sharks, like angel sharks and nurse sharks, use this extra respiratory organ to breathe while at rest on the seafloor. It is also used for respiration when the shark's mouth is used for eating.
11. Not all sharks have the same teeth.
Mako sharks have very pointed teeth, while white sharks have triangular, serrated teeth. Each leave a unique, tell-tale mark on their prey. A sandbar shark will have around 35,000 teeth over the course of its lifetime!
12. Different shark species reproduce in different ways.
Sharks exhibit a great diversity in their reproductive modes. There are oviparous (egg-laying) species and viviparous (live-bearing) species. Oviparous species lay eggs that develop and hatch outside the mother's body with no parental care after the eggs are laid.
So there you have it! Hope you see one at the beach this summer so you can tell all your friends the cool things about sharks.
PIC OF THE WEEK:
I'm out there! Pretty sure the wind will back off soon...
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Can't Stop Looking At Myself In The Mirror
Influencer
Just Went On Ancestry.com and Found Out I'm Related to Kelly Slater! (and Wilbur Kookmeyer Somehow)
