Surf 'em if you got 'em.
SURF:
Been a crazy few weeks around here. I know I've said this before, but the beach closures in spring, inconsistent summer, and small fall seemed like a bad dream. This winter on the other hand has been legendary. Heaps of surf and Santa Ana conditions are a great way to kick off 2021. And in the near term it's going to continue. So with that being said, I took the Emergency Boardriding System in for an oil change and we're back in business for this weekend.
Tomorrow starts off slow as we're in between swells but Saturday picks up big time again for overhead surf and 10'+ sets in SD. That lasts into Sunday morning. And the great weather continues. Here's the tide, sun, and water temps to plan your session accordingly:
- Sunrise and sunset:
- 6:51 AM sunrise
- 5:07 PM
- Water temps are in the high 50's.
- And tides have mellowed out:
- 2.7' at sunrise
- 5' mid-morning
- 0' at sunset
FORECAST:
If you haven't broken your step up yet, then Monday's your chance.
Charts are showing a solid storm taking shape today which will roll in on Monday for more overhead surf and 10' sets at the best spots in North County SD and double overhead in SD. Tuesday is still overhead and Wednesday is back to waist to chest high waves.
Last weekend a small storm flared off Antarctica which will send us waist high+ SW next Thursday and chest high in the OC.
Forecast charts also show a small storm forming in the Aleutians this weekend which would give us chest high WNW on Thursday too. Could be smaller but fun combo swell late next week. After that, the North Pacific is still active but down a notch.
Models show yet another storm off the Aleutians forming next week and we could see more head high WNW around the 25th. Make sure to check out Twitter/North County Surf if anything changes between now and then.
BEST BET:
Saturday or Monday if you want to charge. Or if you're tired- tomorrow morning and Wednesday to rest your limbs.
WEATHER:
Surf has sure looked good lately groomed by the Santa Anas- but man do we need some rain around here. Even broke some records in San Diego County today with temps in the mid to high 80's. Great for August- bad for January. For this weekend it's more of the same- sunny skies, low humidities, and warm temps. We have a couple low pressure systems moving inland next week and they've given the weather models a hard time- either we've got cooler temps and offshore winds again or a chance for some light showers. Long story short- don't expect any big storms in the near future. On a side note, we've had around 1" of rain so far this rainy season- and normal is 4". And this time last winter? 7"...
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Nothing will replace the joy of surfing in the ocean (except maybe winning tomorrow's $750 million lottery), but wave pools are trying their darndest for your attention. As you've probably heard, there are potentially 4-6 projects in the works for Southern California; 1 in Oceanside and 3 to 5 in the greater Palm Springs area. With wave pools in the past, there weren't enough surfers with deep pockets to support a freestanding pool. Developers have now figured out that tying a wave pool to a resort may be the trick. The wave pool is the 'lost leader' to draw you in while you spend additional dollars at their restaurant, hotel room, drinks at the pool bar, onsite surf shop, etc. And with almost 25 million people living in Southern California, there's more than enough shredders to make it happen. But talk of wave pools in the US have been going on for at least 20 years. Why should we believe it's finally going to happen here in our backyard? This time there's a 'space race' between various developers to be the first to stake their claim to this new type of hospitality endeavor. If you haven't seen the website wavepoolmag.com, make sure to check them out every few weeks as they do a good job of trying to keep track of all of this. Here's what they have to say about the various So-Cal pools in the works...
- Oceankamp in Oceanside:
- The wave pool is in the works as construction at the site of the former swap meet and drive-in theatre (off Highway 76, about 5 miles inland from the harbor) moves ahead. OceanKamp, a development by Zephyr, is a 92-acre property billed as a “California Lifestyle Community” focused around activities like yoga, mountain biking and of course, surfing. The project will include a 300-room hotel, as well as 126,000 square feet of space for stores, restaurants and commercial space. The big mystery is the type of wave technology that will be at the center of OceanKamp. The team has committed to a wave-generating system but won’t disclose which one. Best case is to have it open next year or 2023 at the latest.
- The Palm Springs Surf Club in... Palm Springs of course:
- The Palm Springs Surf Club is a rebirth for the old Wet n’ Wild park in Palm Springs. The renovations, lead by the new owners Pono Partners LLC, will focus on a state-of-the-art wave pool capable of producing waves for everyone from beginners to professional surfers. The wave pool at Palm Springs Surf Club is an operational prototype using Surf Loch technology to pump out a variety of wave shapes and sizes. Pono partners is currently using it to raise additional funding for expansion of the pool and additional renovation of the facility. That team is lead by pro Cheyne Magnussen (also the former the wave architect at BSR Surf Resort in Waco) and Kalani Robb, both of whom are part of Pono Partner LLC who bought the park in January 2019. While the final wave pool design will be the center of the Palm Springs Surf Club, the team plans to deliver more than just a wave pool. They are putting $50 million into the 21 acre property and plan to keep the lazy river and other amenities for kids. Their plans also include a restaurant and spa, and bar. Projected opening date is 2022.
- Coral Mountain at La Quinta (which will be way cooler than last season's Bachelorette pad):
- Kelly Slater Wave Company (KSWC) technology announced they will be the centerpiece of this ambitious project in La Quinta. The wave pool will begin construction soon with an estimated completion date sometime in 2022. The $200 million development at Coral Mountain will combine hotel, housing and adventure sports in an area already approved for an 18-hole golf course. Big Sky Wave Developments (founded by avid surfer and son of Charles Schwab) is the financial know-how behind the wave pool and is banking on homeowners and weekenders choosing Kelly’s brand of wave over golf. Will it be open to the public? Probably not- reports are that it's slated as a private development for the wave wealthy buying into the development. FYI- homes in the development will potentially sell for between $1 million and $5 million so pony up if you want some uncrowded perfect waves. Think of it like Hollister Ranch but without gun toting guards, cold water, wind, and sharks. This site will probably host the occasional WSL event since KSWC is involved. Which totally fits into the La Quinta private home/golf course/PGA event lifestyle.
- Honokea in Indio
- Hawaii-based Honokea Surf Villages & Resorts in 2017 announced they were buying land in Indio as part of a $100 million wave pool development using undisclosed artificial wave generation technology. In older reports, the project was due to open in 2019. Honokea was instrumental in getting the NLand wavepool in Austin started in the early days (which is now in purgatory unfortunately). However, the group parted ways with founder Doug Coors before NLand opened its gates. This wave pool has a long road to breaking ground and my guess? May be left behind if the others open first.
- DSRTSURF in Coachella (Can't wait to surf my brains out in the AM then see Rage Against The Machine, Travis Scott, and Dua Lipa in the PM!):
- Local boy Josh Kerr and a crew of heavy hitters including Shane Beschen and the Hobgoods will open DSRTSURF at the Desert Willow Golf Resort. Latest report is that it will open in 2023 with "premium" villas and hotel rooms that surround a wave pool along golf courses, a gym, spa, pickleball and volleyball courts. The facility hosts a surf academy for lessons, camps and retreats. The wave will produce everything from gentle knee-high rollers to head-high slabs via Wavegarden Cove Technology. A big pool of water in the hot desert sounds like these projects are going to use a lot of water, right? Well, let’s take DSRT SURF for example. It’s planning to build a 5.5-acre lagoon that’ll hold about 6 million gallons. Factoring in evaporation and at least one annual draining for maintenance, developer Doug Sheres says they’re looking at using about 20 million gallons per year. Yeah, it’s a lot. "But what sounds like a tremendous amount of water, it’s roughly the amount of water a hole of golf uses,” says Sheres. “So, while providing a recreational activity that arguably will cater to as many if not more people than play golf on the average golf course in a day, we’re only using the amount of water that one hole on that golf course would use.”
- Thermal Surf Club in Thermal (just above the Salton Sea):
- Set within a 20-acre Crystal Lagoon, the Southern California desert's next wave pool looks to be powered by American Wave Machines' Perfect Swell technology. Right now it's in the planning stages and also looks to be similar to Kelly's Coral Mountain resort- a private luxury development. Solana Beach's own American Wave Machines Perfect Swell technology will be used to generate both lefts and rights, 30-60 yard rides, semi-hollow to hollow and performance-oriented. 120 -160 waves per hour come in three-wave sets at between 1:10-1:30 apart. Waves are waist to head-high. The website is listing 'residence club' memberships at $175,000 and 'full' memberships at $1 million. Is that all? I guess I'll take 1 each then.
Based on the available info, I'm guessing Oceankamp in Oceanside, Palm Springs Surf Club, and DSRT SURF will realistically happen and you'll be surfing there in the next 18-24 months. Coral Mountain may happen too, but it's private like Hollister Ranch, so you can count that out unless you win that $750 Mega Millions tomorrow. And finally, nothing will replace surfing in the ocean or vacationing in Hawaii with the fam. But since our summers are overcast and crowded while our winters require a 4/3 (and battling crowds yet again), I wouldn't mind spending a few days in the desert getting guaranteed waves in trunks and enjoying a frosty beverage by the pool with me lady.
There's been a lot of talk recently about people moving out of California. If it means less people in the line up, don't let the door hit you on the way out!
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Noble
Louis Vuitton Don
Starting A Pro Surfing Wrestling League With The Spartan, Crammy, Hakman, Kong, Bam Bam, and Johnny Boy
