Stoke! Art Gallery 2

Back in November, I created a story called 'Stoke! Art Gallery 1'. I've been doing THE Surf Report for about 20 years now and The Pic of the Week has been part of the family for 15 of those years. Since THE Surf Report is posted every Friday, and the Pic of the Week has been around for 15 years, that's around 750 epic empty line up shots. They've been sitting in hibernation all this time so I thought I'd showcase a few beauties from the past on the North County Surf blog here. So enough of me babbling, here's the 2nd round of 'Stoke! Art Gallery'. The pic above is what every surfer dreams of- warm water, fun barrels, and no one out. Doesn't matter if this is Indo, Hawaii, the Caribbean, whatever- it exists.

Speaking of Hawaii, this shot looks fun until you realize it's 15' and there's 20 more behind it about to unload on your head. If the locals don't pound you, then the waves out the back will.

Classic Mexico shot. Hard offshores, dusty, dry, and miles of untapped beach break. I'll draw you a map if you'd like, but you're going to need an indestructible 4x4, plenty of food and water, and bribery skills to match that of Al Capone.

Here's another secret destination. How many line-ups can you spot within walking distance?! It's like the Ranch in central CA but without the cold water and psychotic land owners. Doesn't matter if you're goofy, regular, a pro, or a grom; this beach has something for everyone.

I love this shot- it's not big- most likely head high- but thick, gurgling, and full of sand. And the best part: it's in the Gulf of Mexico. Yes- most likely Texas or Louisiana. Of course it never gets like this very often- you have to wait for Hurricane season- but if you're dedicated and have the time, it will come.

You may have seen this spot from different angles over the years in THE Surf Report (most recently last week). What's great about this particular shot is that it's not big enough to draw a crowd. But from my perspective, I've got a groveler that would do wonders on this wave. 3' to 30', I'm not picky (ok, 30' is stretching it). And in case you're wondering where it is, let's just say this particular island in the southern hemisphere is known for it's lefts, so this is a bit of an anomaly.

This is another anomaly on the Pic of the Week- a surfer. Sure I show waves every week that beg to be ridden, but there's never anyone riding them. I always like to leave it up to the imagination. So why the shot of the guy dropping in? (no it's not me if you're wondering- I wish). It's because the wave is one of my all-time favorites- the Wedge in Newport Beach. Amazing to think we get beach break that big here in California. Hardly ever see Black's like that- and even Ocean Beach in San Fran is rare to push 25'. If you've never been to the Wedge, put it on your bucket list the next time we have a big south headed our way. It's one of the 7 Wonders of the Surfing World.

Another shot of California. Or I think it is due to the hazy sun and smokestacks in the back. Could be a 3rd world country for all I know. But regardless, it's an empty early morning barrel that 10 million people in Southern California seem to have hit their snooze alarms that day.

Another Mexico shot in the Stoke! Art Gallery. This time just a quick jaunt down to Baja. But you're going to need an indestructible 4x4, plenty of food... stop me if you've heard this before. If you're not into making the 2 day drive to the tip, there's just a quick 2 hour flight via Alaska Airlines (and now Southwest Airlines), a 5 star resort waiting, and 75 degree water in the middle of our winter. Why's this place so popular again?...

And last but not least- another shot of surfers (I think this is the 2nd and last shot I ever had of guys surfing in the Pic of the Week- the Wedge shot above is the other). Who else made your dreams come true as a kid- Walt Disney- and now he's done it for the adults. Typhoon Lagoon is the spot and it's smack right dab in the middle of Florida. Now will this ever replace real surfing or the ocean? Never. Would you like to be Bill Gates and have one in your backyard? Of course you would. In a second! Don't lie.

Surf Check

Have some fun waves out there today- and the sun came out early. Only downer is the reason the sun came out early is because the W wind starting blowing early.

We still have fun chest high SW in the water with a touch of NW to give the sets a couple corners to get into. The OC has shoulder/head high waves. Last week I thought the SW would fill in late Sunday and peak Monday but it wouldn't cooperate and instead filled in late Monday and peaked yesterday. Oh well, can't complain we have waves.

Water is 68 and the tides are 0' at sunrise, up to 4' at 10am, down to 1' mid-afternoon, and back up to 6' at sunset. Wind is blowing 10mph from the W this afternoon.

As far as the weather goes, we haven't had the full blown May Gray/June Gloom yet. The clouds have been stubborn to burn off a couple days last week but it wasn't that cold or windy from the S. Today the sun is out but models show a weak low pressure system passing by to the N this weekend and we'll get more persistent clouds at the coast so we may only have a brief shot of sun in the late afternoons Friday-Sunday. Next week looks to be about the same with air temps around 70.

So when's our next big swell? Well... that may not come until the end of summer the way the ocean has been behaving lately. In the near future, we have some small waist high NW windswell on the charts for Sunday.

We do though have Hurricane Cristina spinning SE of Cabo today with winds around 90mph. Good for them- bad for us- as Cristina is stuck behind the Baja Peninsula and the swell can't make it up here. Just as Cristina moves westward and in to our swell window... she'll die. The OC may get lucky and see some chest high sets from her on Saturday but not so much for SD county.

As far as the southern hemisphere goes, we have a bunch of disorganized junk that may give us a shot at chest high sets towards Monday. But that's not too exciting in my book.

Further out, the models show a small storm trying to form off Antarctica but it's mostly aimed E to W and may not send surf our way. It's still a long way off so I hope something comes of it next week. So in a nutshell: the next 7 days will be pretty boring around here unless Cristina can hold together and get in our swell window in one piece!

THE Surf Report

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.

 

Tomorrow looks to be small too but by Sunday we should have more NW windswell filling in along with a new fun SW swell. Chest high waves will the norm with bigger shoulder high waves towards the OC.

Water temps have been hovering around 68 degrees and tides the next few days are 3' at sunrise, down to 1' mid-morning, up to 4.5' at dinner, and down to 3' at sunset. Make sure to keep up to  date on the waves/weather at Twitter/North County Surf.

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

North County New Business News: Random Happenings

Ran across all kinds of random stuff last week. All good- just random. The first here is my favorite. Took the groms to Seaside last weekend and just as I was pulling into the parking lot I ran into this: Calexico Creamery. Didn't actually run into it, just happened to come across it. Anyway... it was a hot almost summer day and ice cream was the perfect remedy. Seems as though this little trailer travels all over SD and sets up shop at Balboa Park, Ponto, Seaside of course- you name it. And they've got fantastic ice cream with a touch of flair- Mexican Ice Cream. Flavors like brown sugar/banana, Mexican eggnog, café con leche, the drunken pumpkin, and heaps more. Since there's no snack shack or restaurant within 20 miles of Seaside (ok- Las Olas is a 1/2 mile away but I'm not walking down there for a snack), Calexico Creamery has got it made. Make sure to check out their Twitter handle at Twitter/CalexicoSD to find out where they're going to set up camp next.

And in the shopping center that landed Pizza Port, Tommy V's, and Board & Brew (thank you dear Lord), Carlsbad's Bressi Ranch is expanding again. They just started building a new 5,000 square foot structure next to Trader Joe's and there aren't tenants yet- but they've a successful mix over there and it's an affluent community- so I assume it won't be a Jack in the Box or a TJ Maxx. Make sure to check back next month to see who your new neighbors are.

 

Last but not least- what's the one thing Encinitas is lacking? No it's not Mexican restaurants, Yoga studios, or surf spots- it's nice lodging. Now I'm not saying Encinitas needs a Montage around here, but when the nicest accommodations you can offer your in-laws is the Best Western at the corner of Vulcan and Encinitas Blvd., then something's gotta give.

Luckily, the Pacific Surf Inn in Leucadia is stepping up to the plate. There's a sign on their door that said they are remodeling. Hope they stick to their word. Rumor has there's a new owner- a developer in town who's done a few remodels like Café Ipe/Surfy Surfy. If he can the vibe consistent and not build some maxed out 3 story monster, it might be a cool place to stay. At least they can finally take down the sign that advertises 'color TV's by RCA'. My gosh- is RCA still in business?

Long story short, there's not a lot of room to work with here (it's next door to Haggo's on the corner of W. Glaucus and Highway 101) but if they can make it nice and keep a steady stream of travelers in here, it would help the foot traffic of the surrounding businesses.



Surf Check

May was a wild 30 days- biggest hurricane on record for the month, 100 degree temps at the beach, wildfires, great combo swells, warmer than usual water temps, you name it.

And then June hit. Our swells died, the low clouds and fog have returned, and our air temps are back to normal. The good news is that our water temps are still hovering at 70.

We've had consistent NW windswell the past few days and today a small inconsistent SW filled in. Nothing big but we had waist high+ waves around here and chest high waves in the OC. That holds the next couple of days then it's looking pretty small on Friday and Saturday.

At least the weather will be nice. There's a weak low pressure trough to our north and high pressure to our south and we're in-between. So not blazing weather but not bad June Gloom either. Look for the typical night/morning low clouds and sunny skies in the afternoon for temps in the mid-70's all the way through the weekend.

So what's our surf doing in the next week or so? We've got more NW windswell for the next 5+ days that will peak this weekend with waist high+ waves and maybe a chest high wave in SD. After that we have more SW swell headed our way for late Sunday. With the NW in the water too, we should have fun chest high+ waves late Sunday into Monday. The OC should see some shoulder high sets from the SW.

After that it's looking pretty ugly next week. No storms in the southern or northern hemispheres mean no surf for us. Just more NW windswell but that will only be good for waist high+ waves and that doesn't sound appealing.

On a side note, Tropical Storm Boris is plowing into Salina Cruz in mainland Mex and it's dumping wind and rain down there. We won't get any surf from it but it's worth noting- I can see this thing cross the peninsula and turn into a stronger storm in the Gulf of Mexico which would affect the southeastern United States next week. Yikes.

Tides the next few days are pretty mellow- just like the surf. Tides start off around 2' at sunrise, down to 0' at 9am, up to 4' late afternoon, and down slightly to 3' at sunset. Have a good week and good luck wave hunting!

THE Surf Report

And we're back to normal.

SURF:
Mighty fun surf the past few days with good SW groundswell being joined by good NW windswell (and if you were in the OC you got a taste of our upcoming hurricane summer with fun SE Amanda swell).

Today all swells are winding down but there's still chest high waves in north county SD and head high sets in the OC. Unfortunately there's not much on tap for the weekend except some background SW/NW swells. Best combo spots will pull in chest high waves.

Water temps have been fluctuating between 68 and 70 the past few days (just depends how early the clouds burn off each day) and tides are -1' at sunrise, up to 4' at lunch, down to 2' late afternoon, and back up to 4' again at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves/weather at Twitter/North County Surf. 

FORECAST:
Southern and northern hemispheres have been pretty quiet recently so there's no big swells headed our way for the near future.

We did have a little storm flare up under New Zealand a few days ago but it wasn't big and it was stuck behind the south Pacific islands. We should get some inconsistent chest high waves around the 3rd of June with maybe a bigger set in the OC. Models are showing winds of central CA being pretty consistent the next few days so we should have some waist high NW windswell for the foreseeable future.

Forecast charts have a storm forming in the southern hemisphere in a few days and if everything holds up we may get a good SW around the 8th of June. But until then- put the step up away.

On the hurricane front, we have another area of disturbed weather off mainland Mexico trying to get organized. Still a LOOOONG way off from forming into a hurricane but it bares watching.

WEATHER:

Forecast models a few days ago had this weekend looking pretty gray and dismal. Thankfully they've backed off their dire predictions and it now looks to be pretty seasonal around here- just night and morning low clouds and mostly sunny afternoons. Nothing baking but nice beach weather with temps around 70. Clouds may thicken the 2nd half of next week but nothing out of the ordinary for an expected June Gloom.

BEST BET:
Nothing stellar but maybe today with leftover SW/NW or maybe next Tuesday with a small pulse of new SW and background NW OR... maybe late next weekend with building SW.
 
NEWS OF THE WEEK:

With all the wild weather lately (100 degree temps at the beach, strongest hurricane on record for May), I thought a review was in order on the state of Mother Nature for the month of April. Here’s how she’s been holding up:

Global Highlights
•The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for April 2014 tied with 2010 as the highest on record for the month, at 0.77°C (1.39°F) above the 20th century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F).

•The global land surface temperature was 1.35°C (2.43°F) above the 20th century average of 8.1°C (46.5°F), marking the third warmest April on record. For the ocean, the April global sea surface temperature was 0.55°C (0.99°F) above the 20th century average of 16.0°C (60.9°F), also the third highest for April on record.

•The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the January–April period (year-to-date) was 0.64°C (1.15°F) above the 20th century average of 12.6°C (54.8°F), the sixth warmest such period on record.

April
The globally-averaged temperature across land and ocean surfaces tied with 2010 as the highest on record for the month, at 0.77°C (1.39°F) higher than the 20th century average. This also ties with April 2010 as the seventh highest departure from average among all months in the period of record, which dates back to January 1880. The record highest departure is 0.86°C (1.55°F) above average, set in February 1998, a month when El Niño conditions had been present for nearly a year. Neither El Niño nor La Niña have been present in the east central equatorial Pacific Ocean for the past two years; however, according to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the chance of El Niño emerging increases for the remainder of 2014, exceeding 65 percent during the Northern Hemisphere summer 2014.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the combined temperature over land and ocean surfaces tied with 2012 for record April warmth. Land surfaces here were 1.54°C (2.77°F) higher than the 20th century average. Part of the warmth can be attributed to record warmth in much of central Siberia, where temperatures across a large region were at least 5°C (9°F) above the 1981–2010 average for the month. Overall, more than half of the Eurasian continent, along with northern Africa and most of Mexico, were much warmer than average, as indicated by the Land & Ocean Percentiles map above. Only parts of central and eastern North America were cooler than average for the month in this hemisphere.

The Southern Hemisphere was fourth warmest across land and ocean surfaces combined. Land surfaces were ninth warmest for April, at 0.82°C (1.48°F) above average. Regions of eastern Australia and part of western Indonesia were record warm. Only part of southern South America was cooler than average in this hemisphere.

•Although the global temperature tied for record highest, the contiguous U.S. observed only its 46th warmest April and much of Canada had cooler-than-average to near-average temperatures for the month. This contrast is an example of how a globally-averaged temperature can differ from a single smaller region.

•Australia observed its seventh highest average April temperature since records began in 1910, at 1.12°C (2.02°F) higher than the 1961–90 average. The average minimum temperature was fourth highest for April, at 1.32°C (2.38°F) above average, with Queensland setting a new record high monthly minimum for the state.

•It was the third warmest April since records began in 1910 for the United Kingdom, at 1.8°C (3.2°F) above the 1981–2010 average. April also marked the fifth month in a row of above-average temperatures for the UK.

The globally-averaged ocean temperature was the third highest for April, at 0.55°C (0.99°F) higher than the 20th century average. Continuing its recent trend, part of the eastern North Pacific Ocean was record warm. Several other regions were also record warm, including parts of the eastern equatorial Pacific off the coast of Mexico and scattered regions of the equatorial western and South Pacific, western North and South Atlantic Ocean, sections of the Norwegian and Berents Seas, the central Indian Ocean, and regions of the Southern Ocean south of Africa. Regions of the central North Atlantic, eastern South Pacific and a small section of the western central Pacific, and the Southern Ocean south of South America were much cooler than average for April.

The average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces for the first four months (January–April) of 2014 was the sixth highest for this period on record. The warmth was relatively evenly distributed between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with each also observing their sixth warmest January–April on record (the Southern Hemisphere tied with 2004).

The average land surface temperature across the Northern Hemisphere was the eighth highest in the 135-year period of record, with record warmth for the year-to-date observed in parts of the western United States, regions of northern and southern Europe into northern Africa, parts of Far East Russia, and coastal western Alaska. The average temperature across Southern Hemisphere land areas was the 10th highest on average for January–April. In this hemisphere, most of Australia and eastern and northwestern South America were much warmer than average, with part of eastern Brazil observing record warmth, as indicated by the Land & Ocean Temperature Percentiles map.

The globally-averaged ocean temperature for January–April was the third highest on record for the period, due in part to record warmth in parts of each of the major ocean basins, particularly notable in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, regions of the western North and South Atlantic, and the ocean waters south of South Africa.

Some major storm systems brought heavy rainfall to isolated areas:
•Severe Tropical Cyclone Ita made landfall in Queensland Australia north of Cooktown on April 11th. According to satellite data, rain was falling at a rate of 91 mm (3.6 inches) per hour near the center of the storm as it approached land. The storm also severely impacted the Solomon Islands, along with Papua New Guinea and nearby islands.

•On April 29th and 30th, torrential rain fell across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeastern United States. In Pensacola, Florida, the 2-day precipitation total was 520 mm (20.47 inches). With 395 mm (15.55) inches of the total falling on the 29th, this marked the all-time wettest calendar day in Pensacola since records began in 1880, breaking the previous record of 388 mm (15.29 inches), recorded on October 5th 1934 when an unnamed tropical storm impacted the area

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Summer's coming and it's time for a new groveler. Too many choices out there? Or maybe you don't want to wait for a custom stick? Well, take manners into your own hands and shape your own! The Shaper Studios can help with that. Make sure to check out the story 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:

Remember that old black and white drawing in which you can see either a young lady or an elderly hag- just depends on your point of view? Well, here's the surf world's version. A barrel to get you stoked off your mind- but ominous clouds in the background. Or the heavens shining above- but one disgusting slab you want no part of. What do you see?

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Soothsayer
Cried At Kimye’s Wedding
Cooler Than The Coolie Kids