More fun NW and SW swells

OY!  Boy was I off on that last forecast!  (Rhetorical question…no need to answer it!)  Well, the surf has not been small and there’s been some nice energy to it.  It’s been pleasantly much bigger than waist high…the weekend surf saw HH/OH waves and the new SW that’s filling in right now is going to deliver some more fun waves over the next few days. Look for building SW swell for Tuesday morning so surf will be in the chest range with inconsistent HH sets especially at the better south facing summer spots.  Surf will peak midday but size should remain in the same range through Wednesday and become slightly more consistent.  Thursday looks like some NW wind swell topping off some left over SW to start the day.  Look for NW wind swell surf in the waist/chest high range with some sparse SW swell in about the same range.  By the end of the day we should see yet another SW groundswell.  That will continue to fill in Friday morning with surf in waist/chest range and some decent shoulder/HH sets.  The weekend looks like it will see the tail end of the SW with some NW short period swell, some size and consistency similar to this weekend’s NW…waist/chest with shoulder/HH high sets.  The beauty of it all is that it builds Sat and peaks late Sunday so there’s a whole weekend of fun surf.  The even better news is that even though it fades on Monday (waist/chest) there is a wagon train of SW groundswells growing in the southern hemi.  It won’t be long before we get the next (and perhaps fairly juicy) SW groundswell stirring in our waters.

An normally I would say something about, “Oh gee, it’s too bad we’re going to have great swell cause a big old storm is going to come and make a big mess of it.” NOPE, not this time.  Yes, as we transition from Spring to Summer we will see less rain and wind and more clear skies and sunshine.  BUT, it is still spring so we’ll see chances of drizzle, light S winds and marine layer along the coast for the next couple of days. Looks like some moderate S winds for tomorrow afternoon but they’ll turn easterly over night and into Wed AM.  Look for low 60s along the coast and some June-Gloomish type weather.  Although we’d all like to be out basking in the spectacle of the UV parade we’ll have to wait until weekend.  Friday the clouds should start to dissipate and we’ll see more sunshine and warmer coastal air temps in the mid/high 60s.  The really good news is that the water is warming up (Thank you SW swells!).  Buoy readings are in the low 60s…even a 62.5 degree reading out there at the Pt. Loma buoy.  Water is going to be moving quite a bit as the tides move towards the Full Moon.  We’ll see a nice push for the dawn patrol and then things will drain out for the midday sessions and then turn around for another nice push during the evening sessions.

The crystal ball’s been shined up so hopefully I’ll be a bit more spot-on this time.  Everyone has their off days!  :-)

I’m outta here…enjoy the week!

Mish

Ocean notes:

1)       This weekend is Patagonia’s Board Swap event at the Cardiff store.  Sign up to sell your board or bring cash to buy someone else’s.  http://www.patagonia.com/patagonia-san-diego-2185-san-elijo-avenue-cardiff-by-the-sea-california-92007

2)      I ran into Steve Sherman, surf photographer…or rather, surf lifestyle photographer, and he’s just started a new line of t-shirts with prints from his collection.  Some cool stuff with more on the way…check out T-Sherms…yup, just like it sounds…T-Sherms (that name was thought up by Slater by the way!).  http://www.t-sherms.com/

3)      I also stumbled upon this cool website. If you’re ever looking for a really cool surf print for yourself, a friend or your favorite surf forecaster (cough…4’x’6’ofkellyslaterplease…cough) this is the site to surf (pun intended).  Lots of awesome surf pics all just waiting to mounted on the wall, gawked at…dreamt of…http://www.surfimages.com/

4)      So, the term “slab” refers to…a broad thick side of beef or cheese or wood right?  Well Webster’s (or Wikipedia or whatever…) SLAB has a new meaning now that surf lingo is present around the globe.   A “slab” is a wave that has a lip thicker then my house…it’s gnarlier than getting your finger caught in the garbage disposal and when you watch “slabs” you often wince, moan and certainly pray that the surfer survives the wave. Watch this slide show and videos and you’ll understand it perfectly…SLAB.  http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/slabs-part-one_69916/

5)      Wanna see some really sick warm water winter waves?  Yes, I mean Pipeline!  “Winter of Waves”…grab the popcorn and kick yur feet up for this one!  http://www.surfline.com/surflinetv/featured-clips/wave-of-the-winter-presented-by-nike-a-short-film_68266

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with May 1, 2012.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Tu   1      Low  12:07 AM     1.6   6:01 AM     Set  2:45 AM      65

     1     High   5:56 AM     4.0   7:31 PM    Rise  2:55 PM

     1      Low  12:12 PM     0.5

     1     High   6:48 PM     4.7

W    2      Low  12:59 AM     0.8   6:00 AM     Set  3:20 AM      75

     2     High   6:57 AM     4.1   7:32 PM    Rise  4:00 PM

     2      Low  12:54 PM     0.5

     2     High   7:22 PM     5.2

Th   3      Low   1:46 AM     0.0   5:59 AM     Set  3:58 AM      84

     3     High   7:52 AM     4.3   7:33 PM    Rise  5:09 PM

     3      Low   1:34 PM     0.5

     3     High   7:58 PM     5.8

F    4      Low   2:32 AM    -0.8   5:58 AM     Set  4:38 AM      92

     4     High   8:44 AM     4.4   7:33 PM    Rise  6:19 PM

     4      Low   2:14 PM     0.7

     4     High   8:35 PM     6.3

Sa   5      Low   3:18 AM    -1.3   5:57 AM     Set  5:23 AM      97

     5     High   9:36 AM     4.3   7:34 PM    Rise  7:31 PM

     5      Low   2:54 PM     0.9

     5     High   9:15 PM     6.5