With the surf getting more crowded everyday (thanks Hollister), it's inevitable we're going to run of quality waves to surf. All kinds of ideas have been thrown around to alleviate the situation like artificial reefs, freeboarding, and wavepools (check out your slim options
here) but all of these take a considerable amount of money and some environmental roadblocks. So what else can we do to create more surf spots to spread out the crowds?
One idea is to take what we already have and make it better. As in the case of a couple lagoons here in southern California that were clogged up and blocked with sand from natural processes. The stagnant lagoons weren't feeding sand into the lineups and in return were non-descript beach breaks without any real sandbars to speak of. As in the case of the Bolsa Chica wetlands in north Orange County (see above) and Batiquitos Lagoon in north San Diego County. Both of these lagoons were re-opened to their natural state the past 15 years and now the locals again have some fun waves to surf.
Of course there's only a limited amount of lagoons in southern California and most of them are already flushing the line ups with sand (like Torrey Pines, Cardiff, Malibu, etc.) so there aren't many left to open up and return to their natural habitat. But one that is left is Buena Vista lagoon that separates Oceanside from Carlsbad. The San Diego Union Tribune this week has brought to life a plan to open up the clogged up lagoon and help save the habitat- as well as hopefully create a new wave for the area.
There's a few hurdles of course before the lagoon could be open. Money is one of them. Then there's all the red tape with permits, hearings, etc. And an odd one is the local homeowners who say dredging the lagoon will leave 'stinky' mud flats at low tide. Not sure about that one- if you've been to some of the lagoons that are already open, it's not the mud that stinks, it's the run-off water coming from upstream- which has nothing to do with low tide. Anyway, hopefully everyone will resolve their issues and find a way to open Buena Vista Lagoon so the wildlife will survive and the locals will have a new wave to surf. For the entire story, check out the UT's article
here.
