Small now...Super Bowl Sunday swell!

Some pretty small surf around town today but not completely unridable.  We’re looking at this small WNW to peak tonight with surf in the waist high range and the occasional slightly bigger set in the southern end of town at daybreak on Friday.  Things get smaller through the day with knee/thigh high by sunset and even smaller for Saturday morning.  Good news is that Saturday evening we’ll start seeing a long period NW swell.  For Super Bowl Sunday we’re looking to start with inconsistent NW but waves bumping back up into the waist/chest range.  Swell fills in through the day with HH sets by sunset and slightly bigger at the better winter breaks and farther south.  Swell peaks Sunday night but the Monday dawn patrol is still looking plenty fun with shoulder/HH waves with some standouts and more consistency.  Chest high by nightfall and into Tuesday morning and waist high again by nightfall.  For the rest of the week we’re looking at some scattered NW wind swells with minimal size…knee/waist high.  A slightly larger wind swell to kick off the weekend on Friday but no good long period groundswell until the beginning of next week or so.  Hoping that Mother Nature will surprise us with some better surf but we’ll just have to wait.

Weather won’t be much of an issue this week.  We’re looking at pretty clean conditions for Fri with cold light E winds to start the day turning a little west by the afternoon but mostly glassy and sunny.  A few more clouds with light breezes through the weekend and some fog kicking in Sunday and Monday nights but then clearing to mostly sunny during the day.  Air temps in the high/mid 60s through the weekend with lows in the high 30s (tonight) and high 40s for the weekend nights.  Tides are chilling out but with the super weak swell over the next few days even a little high tide will slow things down. Pretty mild water movement during the day.  Water temps are in the mid50s. Not too bad with a few extra layers of rubber and no leaks.

                                                                               

Looks like a gorgeous weekend with smaller surf to start but some really fun stuff for the big football weekend!  And for the record…

GO NINERS!!!!!!!!!!

Lates,

Mish

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with February 1, 2013.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

F    1     High  12:09 AM     4.5   6:44 AM     Set  9:42 AM      78

     1      Low   6:24 AM     1.4   5:22 PM    Rise 11:10 PM

     1     High  12:07 PM     3.5

     1      Low   6:03 PM     1.0

Sa   2     High  12:59 AM     4.6   6:43 AM     Set 10:22 AM      68

     2      Low   7:48 AM     1.3   5:23 PM

     2     High   1:30 PM     2.9

     2      Low   6:49 PM     1.6

Su   3     High   2:03 AM     4.7   6:42 AM    Rise 12:14 AM      58

     3      Low   9:26 AM     1.0   5:24 PM     Set 11:06 AM

     3     High   3:29 PM     2.6

     3      Low   8:03 PM     1.9

M    4     High   3:18 AM     4.9   6:42 AM    Rise  1:19 AM      46

     4      Low  10:53 AM     0.4   5:25 PM     Set 11:57 AM

     4     High   5:22 PM     2.8

     4      Low   9:42 PM     2.1

Tu   5     High   4:32 AM     5.2   6:41 AM    Rise  2:22 AM      35

     5      Low  11:56 AM    -0.3   5:26 PM     Set 12:54 PM

     5     High   6:31 PM     3.2

     5      Low  11:04 PM     2.0

More W swell, offshore and sunshine!

Kicking off the week with some pretty messy windblown surf.  There’s some decent size to it as a new WNW bumps the surf into the chest/shoulder high range by Monday late morning.  Swell peaks out early and then slowly declines through the day with Tues morning seeing some waist/chest high surf out of the W as a new smaller W swell fills in.  This short lived swell will just give us a little boost in size with chest high surf for the closing bell on Tuesday and fading out for Wed.  Then we’re looking at a small longer period swell to kick off the day Thursday.  Waist high W swell will gradually make it into the waist/chest high range as it peaks and moves through town fairly quickly late Thurs and into Fri.  Back down to waist high by Fri and a bit more WNW by then so the better winter spots will see a little more size. Sat is looking pretty small with thigh/waist high surf for most of the day.  Super Bowl Sunday things look to turn around as a nice long period NW swell makes it to town.  Swell starts off in the waist high range and picks up quickly as the swell builds through the day. Should be pretty fun and in the chest/shoulder high range right around kick off with the size peaking off at sunset and into Monday in the HH/OH range!  A few more days of swell as that swell dissipates midweek and then it looks like things get a little quiet for now.

Winds have been the trouble maker the past two days.  Still a chance of showers tonight and NW winds into the night but turning NE by dawn as things start to clean up tomorrow.   It might be a fairly nice and clean dawn patrol as that new swell fills in…cold though with the NE winds.  Partly sunny and cloudy through the day and NW winds pick up in the afternoon putting some bump on the water so earlier will be better.  Monday night looks like more COLD NE winds with air temps dropping into the low 40s making for a pretty chilly dawn patrol Tues.  Light and variable winds for Tues with E winds expected overnight. Luckily the sun will come out Tues and Wed but air temps will stay in the high 50s/low 60s until Thurs when the sunshine will bring us high 60s along the coast.  Water temps in the mid50s still.  Big tide swings as we have the full moon tonight.  Full mid-morning tides will slow things down (nice push for the dawn patrollers though) and a negative low in the late afternoon. 

Looks like Thurs and Fri might be a nice call for some fun and slightly warmer surf! And be smart...we've had a significant amount of rain the past few days so surf away from stormdrains and lagoon/river mouths.

I’m out!

Mish

Ocean Notes:

1)    And want to really save water?  Take an “air shower” with this cool new Aussie water saving shower head.  It showers you with hollow water droplets (aka bubbles) and you use 50% less water!  Sounds clean and green to me!

2)    We’ve been having some mighty fine swell over the past month…not huge for the most part but pretty dang fun! Here’s a nice overview of the Nor-Cal, SoCal and The Islands over the past few swells. 

3)    And here’s a great look at an awesome roadtrip from LA to Argentina…yes, you’ll want to pack your bags after this one!

4)    The Atlantic has seen a few really nice storms this winter too and as a result places like Portugal are getting slammed with big surf.  Check this out if you don’t believe me!

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 28, 2013.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

M   28      Low   3:12 AM     1.4   6:46 AM     Set  7:22 AM      99

    28     High   9:19 AM     5.5   5:18 PM    Rise  7:08 PM

    28      Low   3:59 PM    -0.6

    28     High  10:23 PM     4.3

Tu  29      Low   3:49 AM     1.3   6:46 AM     Set  7:56 AM      97

    29     High   9:53 AM     5.2   5:19 PM    Rise  8:07 PM

    29      Low   4:27 PM    -0.4

    29     High  10:54 PM     4.4

W   30      Low   4:31 AM     1.3   6:45 AM     Set  8:30 AM      92

    30     High  10:30 AM     4.8   5:20 PM    Rise  9:07 PM

    30      Low   4:56 PM     0.0

    30     High  11:29 PM     4.5

Th  31      Low   5:21 AM     1.4   6:44 AM     Set  9:05 AM      86

    31     High  11:13 AM     4.2   5:21 PM    Rise 10:08 PM

    31      Low   5:27 PM     0.5

F    1     High  12:09 AM     4.5   6:44 AM     Set  9:42 AM      78

     1      Low   6:24 AM     1.4   5:22 PM    Rise 11:10 PM

     1     High  12:07 PM     3.5

     1      Low   6:03 PM     1.0

More WNW and some rain too

Hola amigos!  Hope everyone had a chance to enjoy this last swell and the great conditions that came with it.  It wasn’t as big as many predicted (except me!) but there were some really fun sets out there and there’s more on the way.  This evening brought some consistent waist/chest high waves with some solid shoulder high sets.  Expect a little smaller but still super fun for Wednesday as the swell backs off a bit more.  We’ll see a new WNW groundswell late Wed and into Thurs.  Surf bumping back up into the chest/shoulder range with some HH sets late Thurs and into Friday.  Swell looks to peak Fri midday and then taper off fairly quickly through the day Sat. Look for waist/chest for the morning sessions with waist high by sunset…a few slightly larger sets at the better winter breaks and down in the southern half of the county.  We’ll see some rain showers from foul weather Thurs and Fri but luckily the winds won’t pick up too badly.  Sunday it looks like we’ve got another smaller NW groundswell.  This one will pick up midday Sunday from waist high back up to waist/chest by sunset.  Swell peaks early early Monday morning with some chest/shoulder high surf on tap to kick off the work week.  Swell making storms calm down a little and storms are a little more disorganized for the middle of next week but it looks like we might see some surf for the end of next week.

After enjoying this gorgeous week of sunshine and warm air temps we’re looking at some clouds and rain for the end of the week and through the weekend.  Cloudy Wed and Thurs and then chance of showers Thurs evening and through Fri tapering off for the evening.  The Jet Stream is sucking up some southern moisture so the first part of the storm won’t be too cold…high/mid60s during the day and mid 50s at night.  Chances of showers on and off through the weekend as a cold front moves in Sat and air temps drop into the low 60s high 50s for Sat through the middle of next week.  We should see consistent sunshine again by about Tues. Water temps still chilly in the mid/low 50s.  We’re seeing some more extreme tides with a sunrise high tide dripping down to an early afternoon minus tide and then back up with a little push for the sunset sessions.  Full moon’s on Sunday so expect more extreme tides as we get closer.

It’s been a great week of fun surf!  Hope y’all got a taste!

I’m out!

Mish

Ocean Notes:

1)      The Mavs International was held in perfect conditions this past weekend with Peter Mel taking home the big check (which it turns out all of the guys in the final heat agreed to share before the heat started!). Although the swell wasn’t quite as macking as they had hoped the clear skies, sunshine and near zero wind helped make up for it.  Here are some links to the coverage…a photographers dream!  First Surfer Mag.  Then Surfline.  And finally the Maverick's Invitational Official Site for picks, articles and video footage of the Semis and Finals.  

2)    And in case the weather’s got you confused it’s still winter here in the Northern Hemi!  Mammoth has plenty of snow and if you need something to get your cold mountain juices flowing just watch this GoPro video of some fresh powpow boarding in Japan.  Love the wipeouts at the end!

3)    And we’ll end today notes with a feel good story from Hawaii. Check out this dolphin who "asks" SCUBA diver for help to get a hook and line out of its fin.  Very cool video!

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 23, 2013.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

W   23      Low  12:13 AM     2.1   6:49 AM     Set  4:02 AM      83

    23     High   6:32 AM     5.2   5:13 PM    Rise  2:30 PM

    23      Low   1:41 PM    -0.3

    23     High   8:11 PM     3.5

Th  24      Low  12:52 AM     1.9   6:48 AM     Set  4:48 AM      89

    24     High   7:08 AM     5.5   5:14 PM    Rise  3:22 PM

    24      Low   2:09 PM    -0.6

    24     High   8:35 PM     3.7

F   25      Low   1:28 AM     1.7   6:48 AM     Set  5:30 AM      94

    25     High   7:41 AM     5.7   5:15 PM    Rise  4:16 PM

    25      Low   2:36 PM    -0.7

    25     High   9:00 PM     3.9

Sa  26      Low   2:02 AM     1.6   6:47 AM     Set  6:10 AM      98

    26     High   8:14 AM     5.7   5:16 PM    Rise  5:13 PM

    26      Low   3:03 PM    -0.8

    26     High   9:26 PM     4.0

Su  27      Low   2:36 AM     1.5   6:47 AM     Set  6:47 AM      99

    27     High   8:46 AM     5.7   5:17 PM    Rise  6:10 PM

    27      Low   3:31 PM    -0.8

    27     High   9:54 PM     4.1

From flat to PHAT!

Yes yes, bigger swell is on the way BUT it’s not going to be Richter down here like it is at Pipeline right now or Mavs on Sunday for THE contest (see Ocean Notes below).  Of course, the big question is WHEN WILL IT SHOW down here and how big will it be?  Well, don’t bother waking up early Saturday unless you just want to SUP on the same knee high surf we’ve had the past few days.  Conditions are gorgeous and water is unbelievably clear but it’ll start small.  At the time I’m writing this (10:30pm Friday night) the SF buoy is only 3.3’ @25 seconds.  That means the swell is juuuuuuuust barely starting to hit up there.  So, a small start to the day Saturday but things should pick up to waist/chest high by sundown BUT the swell will be incredibly inconsistent.  That means lots of lag time to chat with all your new friends in the line up.  By Sunday morning we’re looking at slightly more consistent swell and chest/shoulder high surf (and probably a billion people in the line up).  Perfect conditions with very little wind and plenty of sunshine.Surf peaking late Sunday night in the HH/OH range with spots in the southern end of the county picking up a bit more swell and top winter spots. 

Still plenty of swell and much better consistency for Martin Luther King Day (Monday) in the HH/OH range and ever so slowly tapering off.  Tuesday surf backs off more noticeably with waist/chest high surf around town and even more so on Wed with waist high surf.  The good news is after a day or so of rest we get more NW swell!  Look for a new swell to kick in around Thursday morning with some waist high surf to start the day and picking up into the chest/shoulder high range by the end of the day.  Friday surf looks to increase in size with some SW ground swell (Hun?) in the background.  The NW will definitely dominate but the SW will show.  Unfortunately it looks like we might have some inclement weather for the end of next week as well so wind and windswell might be an issue.  I’ll see how that unfolds early next week.

How about this weather?  Weren’t we all just complaining about how Arctic it was and winter…blah blah…frost on my car…too much rubber…blah blah blah?  Guess that’s come to a screaming halt with air temps in the mid70s, clear cloudless skies and hardly a whisper of wind anywhere.  Just slightly cooler air temps in the mid60s for the weekend before things really warm up again into the low/mid70s along the coast.  Near zero winds for the weekend and first part of next week and more cloudless skies.  That means some chilly nighttime temps but we shouldn’t be seeing any frost at least on the coast.  A few more clouds come midweek before that next weather system moves into town for next weekend.  Water temperatures are chilly and in the mid to low 50s.  Higher tides are in the middle of the night with decent water movement through the middle of the day.  A late morning medium low head to a medium high just before sunset for a nice little push as that swell fills in Sat night.  Tides become more extreme through the week as we head towards the full moon.

Looks like the North Pacific storm train is on the roll so look for more surf in the coming weeks. 

See you at the beach!

Mish

Ocean Notes:

1)            While most of our gardens are hibernating Surfrider is hosting the Green Gardens Group for one of their intensive training events Feb. 4-9^th.  This is the professional version of green gardening!  Looks like a really neat event!  AND don’t miss the clean up at Moonlight Beach this Saturday at 9am!

2)          We all HATE to pay for luggage but have the board bag fees even more!  Here’s the latest breakdown on board breaking…er… baggage handling fees for the different airlines.

3)          Say “big winter swell” and you automatically think…CARIBBEAN right?  What?  Yup…check out this awesome killer Caribbean swell!

4)          And of course Surfline is always a key spot to check for the latest insane photos of lineups around the world. This month’s January F-Stop doesn’t disappoint!

5)          This swell is anticipated to light up Northern Cal’s famed Mavericks this weekend with heats starting at 8am on Sunday for the Maverick's Invitational .  Yeh, I wasn’t invited either but I’ll gladly watch online!

6)          Ok, now after seeing this video of a guy surfing an iceberg next to penguins I’ll never complain about cold surf…well, maybe not never but…

North County Winter Day (minus the swell)

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 20, 2013.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Su  20     High   4:13 AM     4.6   6:50 AM     Set  1:28 AM      58

    20      Low  11:54 AM     0.8   5:10 PM    Rise 12:14 PM

    20     High   6:25 PM     2.9

    20      Low  10:25 PM     2.3

M   21     High   5:07 AM     4.8   6:50 AM     Set  2:22 AM      67

    21      Low  12:38 PM     0.4   5:11 PM    Rise 12:56 PM

    21     High   7:14 PM     3.0

    21      Low  11:26 PM     2.2

Tu  22     High   5:53 AM     5.1   6:49 AM     Set  3:13 AM      76

    22      Low   1:12 PM     0.0   5:12 PM    Rise  1:41 PM

    22     High   7:46 PM     3.3

W   23      Low  12:13 AM     2.1   6:49 AM     Set  4:02 AM      83

    23     High   6:32 AM     5.2   5:13 PM    Rise  2:30 PM

    23      Low   1:41 PM    -0.3

    23     High   8:11 PM     3.5

Th  24      Low  12:52 AM     1.9   6:48 AM     Set  4:48 AM      89

    24     High   7:08 AM     5.5   5:14 PM    Rise  3:22 PM

    24      Low   2:09 PM    -0.6

    24     High   8:35 PM     3.7

Cccccccold and small...but wait...!

Yoweee Zing Powee!  Cccccccccold enough for ya’?  Well, at least the surf is totally flat so we’re not missing any life altering waves but that will all change…eventually.  We’re looking at pretty flat conditions for awhile though…a little WNW in the knee high range at best for Tues with some equally as small S that will pass SD County up and hit LA at the most.  I’m not going to get lured into the frigid waters over that swell.  Wed and Thursday are looking toe high with some ankle slappers as is the start of Friday.  Looks like midday Thurs we should see some new NW but it’s a small one and things will really only pick up to knee/thigh high as it peaks midday.  The good news is that although Sat starts out small we’re looking at a new and EXTREMELY long period WNW to roll into town.  Surf will start to pick up midday but the periods will be so long that we won’t really see much until Sunday.  Then for Sunday we’re looking for things to bump up into the chest/shoulder high range with some HH sets.   Consistency should be better by late Sunday.  Monday starts out with chest/shoulder high surf and slowly tapers off to about chest high and then slightly less for Tuesday.  Not much action after that but there will always be more surf…eventually.

The weather is the big news maker of course with below freezing temperatures at the coast for the past few mornings and more freezing temps on the way.   The lows are supposed to creep up into the low 30s but the super dry NE winds are keeping the wind chill factor down in the upper 20s on the coast Tues and Wed mornings.  Daytime highs after we all thaw out a little will hit the mid50s Tues and then up to the mid/upper60s for the rest of the week and even low 70s for the end of the week/weekend.  Clear skies will give us more of those gorgeous green flash sunsets.  Nighttime temps will be back above freezing too but best to keep those tropical plants covered through Thursday.  Water temps are also pretty darn brisk with mid50s all along the coast.  We’re still seeing some pretty racy tides too with highs late morning and the near 0.0’ low just after sunset.

Time to hit the YMCA heated pool to keep those paddling arms in shape!  Stay warm and healthy everyone! 

I’m out!

Mish

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 15, 2013.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Tu  15      Low   5:14 AM     1.4   6:52 AM    Rise  9:16 AM      12

    15     High  11:13 AM     4.9   5:06 PM     Set  9:42 PM

    15      Low   5:46 PM    -0.1

W   16     High  12:23 AM     4.5   6:51 AM    Rise  9:51 AM      20

    16      Low   6:15 AM     1.6   5:07 PM     Set 10:41 PM

    16     High  12:05 PM     4.0

    16      Low   6:27 PM     0.5

Th  17     High   1:13 AM     4.5   6:51 AM    Rise 10:24 AM      29

    17      Low   7:29 AM     1.7   5:08 PM     Set 11:38 PM

    17     High   1:09 PM     3.3

    17      Low   7:11 PM     1.2

F   18     High   2:09 AM     4.4   6:51 AM    Rise 10:59 AM      39

    18      Low   9:04 AM     1.6   5:09 PM

    18     High   2:41 PM     2.8

    18      Low   8:04 PM     1.7

Sa  19     High   3:11 AM     4.5   6:51 AM     Set 12:34 AM      48

    19      Low  10:45 AM     1.3   5:09 PM    Rise 11:35 AM

    19     High   4:49 PM     2.7

    19      Low   9:13 PM     2.1