January 7th, 2016
Thursday morning brought a 6′ high tide and a healthy increase in swell size.
Not a healthy combo for a sand deprived coastline.
Preparations had been made, but they were quickly washed away….
….sending more trash out to sea….
The lawn and some of the trees struggled to hang on, as the seagulls enjoyed the show.
The pier took a big time beating, but only suffered minor damage.
Meanwhile, a beautiful day was unfolding.
Fleeting sun between showers brought multiple rainbows
as menacing dark clouds charged towards us.
You don’t see this very often…
A high tide and high surf combination can make a lot of changes to the shape of our coastline.
And we had a front row seat.
As we were watching the bluffs get pounded…
A lone surfboard came bobbing past….
Then a lone surfer came around the corner, followed by his buddy,
swimming after his lost board…..
The boardless surfer timed it right and got on the stairs….
But the board was on a long and punishing journey down the coast, one ding at a time….
Sometimes surfers get excited when they see big surf, and they rush out
without considering all the other conditions involved.
And winter storms can make the most mellow spots hazardous, even for experienced surfers.
As the tide dropped, the surf improved and the crowds grew.
John Patrick Mccann scoring a clean barrel,
Even remote spots were choked with masses from all points north and south.
But the local boys, like Colin Schildhauer, still got their share of the action.
And Simon Murdoch.
We don’t know this little chargers name, but we probably will soon…
Huevos.
Dirty water barrels were a dime a dozen.
And set waves were as big as advertised on the interweb.
“Just don’t get any storm runoff in your mouth….”
While all this was going on, a favorite local beach was get hammered….
And a somewhat infamous building was being threatened.
The restrooms at Haskells were literally teetering on the edge of the Pacific.
This event was met with mixed emotions by the general public.
But before anyone could utter the words “Coastal Commission”
heavy machinery was on the scene, building a concrete and plastic barrier.
Time will tell how this plays out, but Mother Nature is pretty persuasive….
Stay tuned.
Thanks to Tim Smith, Mark Sanchez and Blake Haralson for additional photos.
