Where are those hurricanes I was promised?
SURF:
Fun surf earlier this week from a good SW groundswell and smaller NW windswell resulted in head high surf in most areas. That has since tapered off to the chest high range today and tomorrow looks to be waist to chest high from the SW.
Good news is that a small S swell is headed our way for late Saturday for more chest high sets. That lasts into Sunday. We also get a small boost from NW windswell over the weekend. All in all it looks fun but not big the next few days. Water temps are still nice, but not 'El Nino-like', and holding at 70 degrees. And here's more numbers for you to digest:
Tides this weekend are:
- 5:14 AM low -0.54 ft.
- 11:40 AM high 4.23 ft.
- 4:33 PM low 2.28 ft.
- 10:41 PM high 6.12 ft.
- 5:54 AM sunrise
- 7:56 PM sunset
The surf only drops slightly to the waist high+ range late Monday/early Tuesday before another S swell and more NW windswell arrive on Wednesday. Look for chest high+ surf and shoulder high sets on Thursday. That holds into Friday. We then get a little breather late next weekend.
Models show more S building around the 2nd of August for shoulder high surf again. As far as the tropics go, it's been eerily quiet down there. Forecast charts show some activity early next week which may give us chest high S swell around the 26th and head high in the OC- if things hold up. It's got to kick back into gear sometime, right? Make sure to keep track of the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf.
WEATHER:
WEATHER:
Low clouds/fog may increase slightly Friday/Saturday for only partial clearing at the coast and temps in the high 60's at the beaches. Have no fear though; high pressure is forecasted to increase early next week for more sunshine at the beaches and a chance of thunderstorms in the mountains/deserts- typical for this time of year. Temps at the beaches should rise slightly to the 75 degree range too.
BEST BET:
Next Wednesday to Friday with good S swell and MAYBE some tropical swell again...
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
BEST BET:
Next Wednesday to Friday with good S swell and MAYBE some tropical swell again...
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Kelp for a variety of reasons is great for surfers. It keeps the wind chop down, harbors a ton of sea life, and is seen as a health benefit to humans. But it's disappearing of our coast if you haven't noticed the past few years. Scripps Institute of Technology is on the case though and San Diego has agreed to spend $3.6 million studying the region’s kelp forests, a key part of the local ecosystem that scientists say could disappear as climate change spikes ocean temperatures. The money will cover a five-year research partnership in which Scripps has agreed to conduct 450 dives per year at 21 local areas with kelp forests or extensive kelp beds. I'll let the San Diego Union Tribune explain:
The new deal, which the City Council approved last week, extends a partnership that began in 1992 with Scripps, which is part of UC San Diego. The partnership was prompted by a rupture that year of the city’s sewer pipeline off Point Loma, which released 200 million gallons of untreated sewage into waters near the Point Loma kelp forest. The city’s sewer treatment plant on Point Loma has been subject to stricter federal oversight since then. A waiver allowing the plant to continue pumping treated sewage into the ocean depends partly on the city studying how the treated sewage affects local waters, including kelp forests.
The ecological benefits of the forests include serving as a habitat for fish and other species, reducing coastal erosion and acting as a buffer against large waves during storms. The research partnership between the city and Scripps also monitors the effects on ocean life of a second sewer pipe that emits treated sewage near Imperial Beach. City Council last week unanimously approved a five-year extension of the partnership through June 2024.
The new deal, which the City Council approved last week, extends a partnership that began in 1992 with Scripps, which is part of UC San Diego. The partnership was prompted by a rupture that year of the city’s sewer pipeline off Point Loma, which released 200 million gallons of untreated sewage into waters near the Point Loma kelp forest. The city’s sewer treatment plant on Point Loma has been subject to stricter federal oversight since then. A waiver allowing the plant to continue pumping treated sewage into the ocean depends partly on the city studying how the treated sewage affects local waters, including kelp forests.
The ecological benefits of the forests include serving as a habitat for fish and other species, reducing coastal erosion and acting as a buffer against large waves during storms. The research partnership between the city and Scripps also monitors the effects on ocean life of a second sewer pipe that emits treated sewage near Imperial Beach. City Council last week unanimously approved a five-year extension of the partnership through June 2024.
The kelp analysis is one component of a larger city project focused on ocean monitoring, particularly emerging issues of concern such as climate change and pollution. “It’s one of the most comprehensive programs of its kind in the world,” city marine biologist Tim Stebbins told the City Council’s Environment Committee last month.
The city monitors a 340-square-mile area extending from northern San Diego County to Baja California in Mexico. In addition to dives and water quality monitoring at local beaches, the kelp analysis includes remote monitoring of the region’s two largest kelp forests: one in Point Loma and one in La Jolla. The kelp monitoring typically focuses on an area extending from Cardiff down to the channel in San Diego Bay between Point Loma and Coronado. The monitoring also will help the city meet new requirements for coastal habitats associated with the Marine Life Protection Act, a 1999 state law that requires California to evaluate protected marine areas.
Climate change is a threat to kelp, which typically thrives in the cold water along the California coast, said Ed Parnell, a principal investigator for Scripps who leads the kelp analysis. Cold water provides kelp crucial nutrients for rapid growth, scientists say. Local kelp started to disappear when local ocean waters warmed up in 2014 and continued that trend during the next few years of warmer water. Parnell said in 25 to 50 years kelp may become the exception in local ocean waters, instead of the norm it has been. Scripps has been formally studying local kelp forests and kelp beds since 1971 and more informally before that, officials said. Kelp harvesting, which had been a thriving business, essentially ended in 2004 when the economics changed, Parnell said.
Money for the research is partnership covers mostly labor costs: divers to conduct the research missions, record the data and then analyze it. The project is funded by the city’s 280,000 sewer customers, whose bills are calculated based on expenses deemed necessary to run the sewer system, including the kelp project.
Warm water is great for wearing boardshorts of course but not at the expense of our kelp forests unfortunately.
PIC OF THE WEEK:
Australia is the best. Not only do they have Vegemite, Occy, and Koala's, they also have Noosa Heads. Sure the crowds are insane, Vegemite tastes like dirt, Koalas have sharp claws, and I have a man crush on Curren, Australia is the best. For more images of thunder from down under, check out Benjamin Gough's work on Instagram @_benjamingough
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Appetite for Destruction
Hungry Like the Wolf
Just Booked a Surf Trip to Kokomo!
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Appetite for Destruction
Hungry Like the Wolf
Just Booked a Surf Trip to Kokomo!
