Are You Not Entertained?
SURF:
And just when you thought La Nina was going to be a dud again this year. A wind storm for the ages (50-60 mph along the coast, 90-100 mph in the mountains) is currently being replaced by a wetter yet less windy storm for Friday. This blast from the N will also bring one of the biggest 2 day snowfalls on record to the So-Cal mountains- up to 6 FEET in some locations. That's Tahoe type numbers.
For us down here, look for the S wind to be howling Friday afternoon in the 20-30 mph range which will generate more overhead storm surf by dark. That lasts into Saturday where the winds will finally turn to the NW in the afternoon. On Sunday, we get back to the head high+ range from the NW but the water will be a tad dirty. And if you're still interested at this point, here are tides, sunrise/sunset, and water temps for the next few days:
- Sunrise and sunset:
- 6:20 AM sunrise
- 5:38 PM sunset
- Water temps are BRUTAL- SD is struggling to stay at 55 and LA is now low 50's! San Fran is even reporting high 40's!
- In contrast to the weather, the tides are fairly boring this weekend:
- about 1' at sunset
- almost 3' after lunch
- and down to 2' at sunset
FORECAST:
If you liked this weekend's weather, let me introduce you to mid-week. After a fairly calm Monday, another storm heads our way Tuesday from British Columbia.
We're still a ways away from this next system currently forming in the Aleutians, but early models say this one should be slightly milder than our current storms. Regardless, look for more rain, wind, and messy surf Tuesday/Wednesday. After that, we should have a few days of 'normal' March weather the 2nd half of next week and MAYBE more wet weather/windswell next weekend?
WEATHER:
As mentioned earlier, the storm yesterday was one of the windier ones we've had in quite some time. And the storm tomorrow could dump some of the most intense snow we've had since the late 80's. As far as the rain goes, most locations are roughly 1-2" away from the seasonal rainfall TOTALS (season ends Sept. 30th) so we're way ahead of where we should be this time of year. If we get at least 2-3" of rain from the storm this weekend, we're in good shape. As far as our drought goes though, we're decades behind in rainfall, so just hitting our 'average' this season is a drop in the bucket. But it will help lessen our fire danger in the hills this fall. Here's a quick summary of the week ahead:
- Friday: rain, heavy at times late, windy from the S. Highs in the mid 50's and lows in the mid 40's.
- Saturday: more heavy rain and breezy from the W. Temps mid 50's to low 40's again.
- Sunday: clearing skies from the NW, temps 55/45.
- Monday: mild and cool, temps 55/45.
- Tuesday/Wednesday: windy and wet again. Temps... 55/45
- Mild the 2nd half of next week.
If anything changes between now and then, make sure to follow North County Surf on Twitter!
BEST BET:
Sunday/Monday with dropping surf and cleaner conditions. But beware the dirty water!
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Well, we've finally made it to the #1 'sketchiest' surf spot in California. Before the big reveal though, let's have a look at how we got here:
5. Ghost Trees: Lots of big boulders in the lineup that seem to pop up at inopportune times when you're surfing a 50' wave.
4. Tijuana Sloughs: No defined line up on big days and water dirtier than a truck stop bathroom.
3. Potato Patch: Ever paddled against the current at Ponto when the tide is dropping like a rock? Now picture a 'lagoon' 20,000 times that size, draining at low tide- you end up in Hawaii.
2. Cortes Bank: 110 miles offshore. If something goes wrong, you're in it for the long haul.
And #1 (drum roll please)...
Sailors call it 'Devil's Teeth'. Ancient inhabitants called it 'Islands of the Dead. Surfers in Northern California call it 'The Farallons'. Now technically, no one on record has surfed it (for good reason). People have tried though (more on that below). What's scaring them you ask? I mean, San Francisco has a large surfing population so there should be plenty of trips out to the island- considering Cortes Bank has been surfed dozens of times now and that's 4 times the distance. Let's start with the low hanging fruit:
The islands are home to many shipwrecks resulting in death; most notably the liberty ship SS Henry Bergh, a converted troop carrier hit West End in 1944 and the USS Conestoga, a US Navy tugboat that disappeared with its 56 crew members in 1921. Also, scientist Jim Gray was lost at sea after setting out on a solo sailing trip from San Francisco to the Farallons on January 28, 2007. Despite an unusually thorough search, neither his body nor his boat was ever found. (Of course they weren’t). And on April 14, 2012, the sailing yacht Low Speed Chase capsized during a race at Maintop Island, killing 5 of the 8 crew aboard.
And then there’s the 'locals': Five species of seals come to rest on the islands, some aggressive. These are the northern elephant seal, harbor seal, Steller's sea lion, California sea lion, and the northern fur seal. Sealers took 150,000 northern fur seals from the Farallons between 1810 and 1813, followed by Russian fur hunters who lived on the Farallons and extirpated the pinnipeds from the islands. If the Farallon Islands population reaches its estimated historical size of 100,000 individuals, it could account for approximately one-fifth of the world's northern fur seal population.
What LOVES seals? Or should I say what loves to EAT seals? Great whites of course (but you already knew that). In 1970 Farallon biologists witnessed their first shark attack, on a Steller's sea lion. During the next fifteen years, more than one hundred attacks on seals and sea lions were observed at close range. By the year 2000, biologists were logging almost eighty attacks in a single season. In comparison, we've had 3 shark attacks in north county San Diego the past decade (that we know of). The Farallons have 1 almost EVERY 4 DAYS (that we know of).
The seasonal shark population at the Farallons is unclear, with estimates from thirty to one hundred (RAD! Up to 100 Great Whites circling that little island)! The Farallons are also unique in the size of the great whites that are attracted. The average length of a full-grown great white shark is 13'-16', with a weight of 1,500 to 2,430 lbs. (that's over a ton people), females generally being larger than males. Farallon great whites range between the "smaller" males at 13' to the females, which generally range between 17'-19 ft'. And if great whites don’t scare you- this story should- a killer whale was recorded attacking a great white near the Farallons in 1997. (That's not even funny. On that note, how come no one's made a summer blockbuster movie about THAT?!)
So haunted shipwrecks, angry seals, hungry great whites, and killer whales aren’t a big deal? You’d still paddle out? Fine. Then how about from 1946 to 1970, the sea around the Farallons was used as a NUCLEAR DUMPING SITE for radioactive waste under the authority of the Atomic Energy Commission. Most of the dumping took place before 1960, and all dumping of radioactive wastes by the United States was terminated in 1970. By then, 47,500 containers (55-gallon steel drums) had been dumped in the vicinity. The materials dumped were mostly laboratory materials containing traces of contamination (no big deal, right?) and it's been said much of the radioactivity had decayed by 1980. (Sure). The exact location of the containers and the potential hazard the containers pose to the environment are unknown. According to the EPA, attempts to remove the barrels would likely produce greater risk than leaving them undisturbed. Containers were shipped to Hunters Point Shipyard, then loaded onto barges for transportation to the Farallons. Containers were weighted with concrete. Those that floated were sometimes shot with rifles to sink them (GREAT idea). In January 1951, the highly radioactive hull of USS Independence, which was used in Operation Crossroads (part of the infamous atomic testing in the south Pacific) and then loaded with barrels of radioactive waste, was scuttled in the area. (Another brilliant idea. It's almost comical. Almost. Seriously, who in our government thinks up these things)?!
And even with ALL OF THAT being said, three people successfully SWAM from the Farallons to the Golden Gate, with two more swimming to points north of the gate. (Seriously. You can't make this stuff up). The first, Ted Erikson, made the swim in September 1967, with the second, Joseph Locke, swimming to the Golden Gate on July 12, 2014, in 14 hours. The third person, and the first woman to complete the distance, Kimberley Chambers, made it in just over 17 hours on Friday August 7, 2015. Congratulations everyone?
So swimmers have made it, but surfers haven’t? Not sure if it’s dumb luck with the swimmers and surfboards looking like pinnipeds, but a couple of local fisherman in November of 2000 went out to the islands to see what they could catch and took their surfboards 'just in case'. Once floating offshore of the islands, they threw one of their boards in the water 'to see what would happen'. And what do you think happened? You guessed it, within 10 minutes, a 15' great white attacked the board. What a waste of a completely good Al Merrick. Suffice to say, they didn't surf that day. Nor has anyone else since.
So there you have it. The top 5 sketchiest surf spots in California. And if you've surfed any of these spots, I owe you a cold one.
Here's the Cliffs Notes:
- early inhabitants called it "Islands of the Dead"
- sailors now call it "Devils Teeth"
- 100,000 swimming pit bulls (seals)
- 100 larger than normal great whites
- they don't call them 'killer' whales for nothing
- deadly shipwrecks
- nuclear waste
Congratulations Farallons! You're #1! (It's nothing to be proud of).
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Shrewd
Already Filled Out My March Madness Bracket
Just Bought My 1,000th Surfboard!
