Windy then Southern Hemi South!

Okeee dokee…it looks like we’ve got some decent NW windswell with a hint of S swell going on right now.  The S is really aimed more south of us but the better summer spots might pick up a dribble of waves every now and then.   Wind swell waves in the waist high range with the occasional chest high set.  Waves don’t have a lot of gusto to them but are surfable and pretty fun with not a lot of folks out for the most part.  Look for decreasing swell for Thursday and Friday with increasing winds so messier conditions out of the S and W.  Saturday is more of the same…waist high wind chop with conditions cleaning up a bit for Sunday. Late Sunday we’ll start to see the very start of the first big S swell.  This bad boy is kickin’ some butt down in the South Pacific right now.  Things will pick up Monday with very inconsistent SW swell in the chest/shoulder range.   Some background steep S swell from the year’s first hurricane, Alvin.  The angle of the hurricane looks like it will by-pass most of SD County but North County, OC and LA should see additional energy on top of the SW groundswell.  Things kick in more on Tuesday with more solid shoulder/HH surf especially at the better summer spots…some nice HH/OH sets there.  Plenty of surf through the week as a secondary SW swell keeps the surf pumping Wed. (more shoulder/HH+ surf) and starting to taper off a little on Thursday.  Looks like we’ve got more SW on tap and even a late NW storm that looks to be sending us some late season NW swell towards the end of next week.

The next few days and through the weekend look to be funky with a mix of clouds and steady SW winds.  Worst winds look like Thursday night into Saturday morning.  Booooooooooooooooo!  Even a chance of drizzle Thursday evening through midday Saturday.  Things start to clear up Sunday with early fog then clearing skies.  Air temps only in the mid to high 60s.  Water temps are pretty balmy with average temps in the low/mid 60s.  With the messy S winds I would expect those temps to drop a little over the weekend.  Luckily that slew of SW groundswells should bump it right back up over the course of next week.  Pretty low tides in the morning with mild water movement as it head up to a medium high tide in the late afternoon and very little movement to the medium low tide a little after sunset.

Looks like less than ideal conditions for surf over the next few days and through the weekend but some fun stuff coming up for next week!

I feel summer coming on!

Stay wet San Diego!

Mish

Ocean Notes:

1) The butt kickin’ S swell that’s heading our way is pumping out some insanity on Teahupoo.  Not only were the waves going RICHTER, there were folks going over the falls, Laird on a SUP, boats crashing into each other and barely making it over the lip, lost passengers, and jet skis, surfers, photogs and all trying to stay out of each other’s way.  Total Teahupoo insanity!

2)      More warm water video coming out of the Caribbean…oh, to be in that gorgeous blue water with beautiful barreling waves!

3)      Locally we’ve got some fun stuff going on.  This Friday at the Patagonia shop in Cardiff you can come see Thomas Campbell’s slide show and book signing with Dan Malloy.  Live music from Mattson 2.  Call the shop for more info – 760-634-9886.

4)      Put the Patagonia Board Swap on your calendar for June 1^st starting at 8am.  You can call to reserve your spot to swap/sell your board or just stop by to check out the goods!  Always some great deals to be had here!

5)     And if you’d like to support you local Surfrider Chapter how about heading to En Fuego in Del Mar on May 29^th.  Ten percent of their sales will go to Surfrider and you benefit with tasty food and delicious beverages!  For more info click here!

6)      And just to get you in a summery mood here’s a great recipe for some summer asparagus salad . I’ve also done a similar recipe with a squeeze of fresh Meyer lemon and roasted sliced almonds.

7)      And I’ll end it with some fun local surf from that swell about a week ago.  The Bu woke up, Santa Cruz and Trestles was fun and there were still secret spots with hardly a soul out!  Offshore and S swell…yes, summer’s on it’s way!

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with May 16, 2013.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Th  16     High  12:58 AM     4.1   5:49 AM     Set 12:11 AM      27

    16      Low   8:32 AM     0.6   7:42 PM    Rise 11:21 AM

    16     High   3:52 PM     3.3

    16      Low   8:37 PM     2.8

F   17     High   2:08 AM     3.8   5:48 AM     Set 12:46 AM      36

    17      Low   9:29 AM     0.8   7:43 PM    Rise 12:16 PM

    17     High   4:47 PM     3.7

    17      Low  10:14 PM     2.6

Sa  18     High   3:37 AM     3.5   5:48 AM     Set  1:20 AM      46

    18      Low  10:25 AM     0.9   7:43 PM    Rise  1:13 PM

    18     High   5:29 PM     4.0

    18      Low  11:29 PM     2.0

Su  19     High   5:01 AM     3.5   5:47 AM     Set  1:54 AM      56

    19      Low  11:15 AM     1.0   7:44 PM    Rise  2:11 PM

    19     High   6:05 PM     4.5

M   20      Low  12:25 AM     1.4   5:46 AM     Set  2:28 AM      66

    20     High   6:11 AM     3.6   7:45 PM    Rise  3:11 PM

    20      Low  12:01 PM     1.0

    20     High   6:39 PM     5.0

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