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

Smaller NW and then The Big Chill!

Some lingering WNW to start the day Wednesday with some new NW filling in late morning.  We should see knee/waist to start the day with some waist/chest by midday and into Thursday.  Big tide swings will also play a huge factor in the morning and midday surf.  Unfavorable weather will accompany that swell so conditions will be pretty ugly for most of Thurs.  Swell tapers off slowly through the day with some late background SW sneaking in late in the day giving the occasional knee/waist high wave at the summer spots (Summer?  What’s that?)  Friday we’ll see winds and freezing (literally) air temps through midmorning and the accompanying big wind swell all day.  Unfortunately, conditions will be very unfavorable for the HH/OH+ wind swell.  Things calm down for Sat and surf drops into the waist/chest range.  More freezing air temps in the morning for the coast so dawn patrollers be prepared…booties, hoods, gloves and A LOT of hot coffee!  Surf tapers off through the day and life along the coast get’s pretty quiet for awhile with very little showing up until the end of next week.

Again weather is the big story…showers Wed night and into Thurs morning with big SE and then W winds for Thurs.  Strong winds and air temps forecasted in the low 30s…YES, LOW 30s.  With the wind chill the air temps are forecasted to be in the high 20s for both Friday and Saturday mornings. After the rains please be cautious of black ice and be smart about your surf sessions.  Daytime air temps rising to the low/mid 50s Fri and Sat with very little warming for the rest of the weekend and the start of the work week.  Big tide swings with super high dawn patrol tides draining out to super low early afternoon tides.  Water temps are pretty chilly in the mid 50s but will feel tropical compared to the 30 degree temps we’ll have Fri and Sat mornings.

That’s it for now…be super smart about surfing in that super cold air!  Lots of flu bugs going around!  Stay warm and wear your rubber!

Lates,

Mish

Still fighting The Plague so no Ocean Notes today…

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 9, 2013.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

W    9      Low  12:08 AM     1.6   6:52 AM    Rise  4:36 AM      12

     9     High   6:36 AM     6.4   5:00 PM     Set  3:07 PM

     9      Low   1:42 PM    -1.5

     9     High   8:07 PM     4.0

Th  10      Low   1:02 AM     1.5   6:52 AM    Rise  5:37 AM      5

    10     High   7:24 AM     6.7   5:01 PM     Set  4:13 PM

    10      Low   2:25 PM    -1.7

    10     High   8:50 PM     4.2

F   11      Low   1:52 AM     1.3   6:52 AM    Rise  6:32 AM      1

    11     High   8:11 AM     6.8   5:02 PM     Set  5:22 PM

    11      Low   3:06 PM    -1.8

    11     High   9:32 PM     4.4

Sa  12      Low   2:41 AM     1.2   6:52 AM    Rise  7:20 AM      0

    12     High   8:56 AM     6.6   5:03 PM     Set  6:31 PM

    12      Low   3:47 PM    -1.6

    12     High  10:13 PM     4.5

Su  13      Low   3:29 AM     1.2   6:52 AM    Rise  8:03 AM      1

    13     High   9:41 AM     6.3   5:04 PM     Set  7:37 PM

    13      Low   4:27 PM    -1.3

    13     High  10:55 PM     4.6

A little more surf on tap...and weather.

Greetings Earthlings!  Happy New Year!  I hope all of you are surfed out and your arms are noodles!  We’ve had some really fun surf and spectacular conditions for this first week of the year.  The surf looks to taper off Sunday with some waist high waves and messy rainy conditions.  Monday will kick off the week with some significant new WNW swell with surf jumping into the shoulder/HH range with OH waves at the best spots.  The swell is a quickie and will peak late morning.  Surf drops off Tuesday, back into the waist/chest high range to start the day and waist high by the end of the day.  Smaller to start Wed but a new small NW groundswell will bump surf up a tad into the waist high range with occasional chest high set.  Size and well holds for Thursday.  Looks like Friday will see a real boost in size as a WNW moves into place and shoots a burst of surf our way for the day.  Surf’s gonna jump into the OH+ range by late morning but fade as quickly as it shows up.  The storm that looks to be creating this swell isn’t sticking around and staying strong as models show right now.  Things could change.  Surf backs waaaaaaay down Sat and then we’ve got a little dry spell for a while. 

Showers are on the books for the early early morning.  Showers and thunderstorms for most of the day and tapering off in the evening.  Early east winds will start the day with clean conditions but look for NW winds to kick in by midday.  They will probably make a mess of things by late afternoon.  Those brisk NE winds kick in again Monday so that new swell should see better conditions.  Clear and cold til Tues with more clouds for the second half of the week.  COLD nighttime temps still on the clear days with a few more degrees on the cloudy days.  Water temps is chilly and in the mid50s.  Definitely bootie time especially for those frost warning mornings!   We’re seeing some decent water movement with a late morning low and medium high at sunset.  Lots more water movement towards the end of the week with swampy high morning tides and drained out lows for the afternoon sessions.

Back to the grind but I hope everyone’s kicking off 2013 with some fun surf!

Happy New Year!

Mish

Ocean Notes:

1)       If someone hasn’t already emailed this to you or you haven’t seen this pasted all over the news and social media this is a link you really should see.  It’s a visual documentary by conservationist photographer Gary Stokes about shark finning focusing on the drying of fins on the rooftops of buildings in China.  This might just make you to think twice about killing sharks.

2)      These days we’re all short of time but here are a few tips from Surfer Mag for keeping in shape for all those surf sessions.

3)      You might have spotted them already…the whale are migrating!  If you want to catch them out why not heat out with those who know them best…the folks at the Birch Aquarium are doing whale watching trips now through April!

4)      While you’re sitting at your desk at work trying to get through all those emails and voice mails take a little break and take a gander at Surfer Mag’s Best Photos of 2012 . It’ll keep you daydreaming for weeks!

5)      So, what did you do to end the year?  Did you surf massive Jaws or Waimea ?  Well, these guys did!  Amazes me every time!

 

First sunset of the year...stunning!

 

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 6, 2013.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Su   6     High   3:56 AM     5.1   6:52 AM    Rise  1:19 AM      42

     6      Low  11:08 AM     0.7   4:58 PM     Set 12:23 PM

     6     High   5:12 PM     2.9

     6      Low  10:02 PM     1.8

M    7     High   4:53 AM     5.5   6:52 AM    Rise  2:25 AM      31

     7      Low  12:07 PM    -0.2   4:59 PM     Set  1:11 PM

     7     High   6:25 PM     3.2

     7      Low  11:09 PM     1.8

Tu   8     High   5:46 AM     6.0   6:52 AM    Rise  3:32 AM      21

     8      Low  12:56 PM    -0.9   5:00 PM     Set  2:06 PM

     8     High   7:20 PM     3.6

W    9      Low  12:08 AM     1.6   6:52 AM    Rise  4:36 AM      12

     9     High   6:36 AM     6.4   5:00 PM     Set  3:07 PM

     9      Low   1:42 PM    -1.5

     9     High   8:07 PM     4.0

Th  10      Low   1:02 AM     1.5   6:52 AM    Rise  5:37 AM      5

    10     High   7:24 AM     6.7   5:01 PM     Set  4:13 PM

    10      Low   2:25 PM    -1.7

    10     High   8:50 PM     4.2