Big Wednesday

On Thursday December 4th the word was out that big waves were rolling in from the West due to a storm off the Bering Straight. Due to be at their peek in the early morning of Wednesday, December 5, (now known as "Big Wednesday") Lorri and I thought we might take a stroll out to Swami's on Tuesday evening.

The line-up was crowded and an occasional nice looking set would roll in but the sunset was more interesting than the surf. Notice the "Joy to the World" sign and Christmas lights on one of the Swami portals.

In this series of photos you can see the swells and the surfers (if you look carefully) but the big waves didn't show up until Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday morning the parking lot above Swami's was packed and all the side streets and Coast Highway were parked full. The lifeguards kept two jet skis busy rescuing the broken-boarded and broken-leashed and I suppose a few others who were not up to the challenge. Channel 6 news was there with a film crew. It was quite the spectacle. These were the biggest waves to hit the coast since December of 2005.

Because of the geography of the point at Swami's, it is one of the few places along the San Diego coast where the bigger west swells are surfable. In most other places, the waves roll in and break all at once leaving no opportunity to ride diagonally across the face of the wave. With no telephoto lens, I couldn't do justice to the size of the waves and the surfers. Trust me, there were some big waves.