A double dog dare to dive wednesday!

[riguerin]

Just got back from my dawn patrol session. We were pulling in some solid over head sets (6-10ft)this AM off the the point at Uppers. Every now and then a double overhead bomb would sweep through. By some miracle I managed to pick one off

It was crowded, definitly not enough waves to go around ... but worth it when you got one. Of course, getting one all to yourself was bonus Paddling out was frigg'n painful ! There was lots of water moving around on the inside ... a ripping long shore current was pulling hard toward Lowers. It took about 20 minutes of non-stop paddling to get out to the line up. Man, now I know just how out of shape I've gotten from all this diving :embarassed:

On a down note. I just read that Monterey local, Peter Davi drowned yesterday while attempting to paddle into massive 30ft surf at Ghost Tree. A very sad story, that serves as a sobering reminder of just how dangerous it can be when it gets this big. Be careful out there, folks !

 

[Empty V]

Just got back from my dawn patrol session....

Well I gotta say, this morning at 3rd point took the E. On our south facing beach, easy overhead with perfect rights that seemed to go on forever. Probably one of the most crowded I've seen it but the last few times I've been there it's like fighting through a crowd in a mall on Christmas. During the lulls I was gleaming at the short boarders over at first point hitting the perfect A frames that really made me wanna go out and get a funboard. I've always bounced between 9'0" and 9'6". I'm starting to think about S. Africa now.

Thanks Rick for inspiring me to get back out on my board, it was an amazing morning my friend! I'm so down for trails soon, it's been a few years since I've hit it and 3 is one of my favorites. I'd also like to go down and visit the Paskowitz camp while there. Such amazing people and just feel good to be around.

Condolences to the family and friends of Peter Davi. It's always tough to lose a soldier, especially in the line of fire.

Billy

 

[riguerin]

Well I gotta say, this morning at 3rd point took the E. On our south facing beach, easy overhead with perfect rights that seemed to go on forever. Probably one of the most crowded I've seen it but the last few times I've been there it's like fighting through a crowd in a mall on Christmas. During the lulls I was gleaming at the short boarders over at first point hitting the perfect A frames that really made me wanna go out and get a funboard. I've always bounced between 9'0" and 9'6". I'm starting to think about S. Africa now.

Thanks Rick for inspiring me to get back out on my board, it was an amazing morning my friend! I'm so down for trails soon, it's been a few years since I've hit it and 3 is one of my favorites. I'd also like to go down and visit the Paskowitz camp while there. Such amazing people and just feel good to be around.

Condolences to the family and friends of Peter Davi. It's always tough to lose a soldier, especially in the line of fire.

Billy

Right on, bro ! Glad you were able to get out. Yeah, the crowds were pretty nuts down here too. You know it's going to be bad when it's still dark out and all the spots in the parking lot are gone. Anyway, I think it's still worth it ... Trestles is such a great wave. Even if you only get a handful of waves, the quality of the ride rarely disappoint.

Anyway, yeah let's try to hook up for sure. Everyone thinks south county is just a bunch of summer breaks, but we get some really fun uncrowded surf during the winter months. You can teach me how to hang ten


So, out of curiosity how did the dive conditions look at Malibu today ?

 

[LLKZ16]

This morning, I went over to Hagertys/Malaga Cove and the place was on fire. There were so many people out surfing that it was actually a dangerous situation.

Afterwards, I went over to Vets and to my surprise, it was not big at all. As a mater of fact, it was VERY diveable!

 

[Codyjp]

I flew over malaga today, it looked great, El Porto was also just nuts. It was breaking about half way to hawaii.

 

[riguerin]

This morning, I went over to Hagertys/Malaga Cove and the place was on fire. There were so many people out surfing that it was actually a dangerous situation.

Looks like some fun sized head high sets.

Afterwards, I went over to Vets and to my surprise, it was not big at all. As a mater of fact, it was VERY diveable!

That place has a very narrow swell window. It gets shadowed heavily from the South by the PV peninsula and southern Channel Islands, from the W & WNW by the northern Channel Islands, and from the steeper NW by Pt Conception and the shape of the coastline. I guess, the energy that manages to slips through crease gets taken care of by the breakwater. The part I don't fully understand is why the canyon doesn't pull in more of the deep energy, like the Scripps and La Jolla Canyons do. I guess that's why it's a dive spot and not a surf spot.

Anyway, you can see that shadowing effect in the animation below. You can also see the standout spots, like El Porto, lighting up.

BTW, that what that little note on Wetsand that says "Near shore forecast for most exposed beaches" is referring to - it's spots like El Porto or Blacks (for this swell) ... not Vets.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Been there, done that.....took me about 20 minutes, just to get in. On the way out, lost a fun as a wave broke on top of me. Lickily I had a BP&W. We all learn from our mistakes eventually....

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[LLKZ16]

Looks like some fun sized head high sets.




That place has a very narrow swell window. It gets shadowed heavily from the South by the PV peninsula and southern Channel Islands, from the W & WNW by the northern Channel Islands, and from the steeper NW by Pt Conception and the shape of the coastline. I guess, the energy that manages to slips through crease gets taken care of by the breakwater. The part I don't fully understand is why the canyon doesn't pull in more of the deep energy, like the Scripps and La Jolla Canyons do. I guess that's why it's a dive spot and not a surf spot.

Anyway, you can see that shadowing effect in the animation below. You can also see the standout spots, like El Porto, lighting up.

BTW, that what that little note on Wetsand that says "Near shore forecast for most exposed beaches" is referring to - it's spots like El Porto or Blacks (for this swell) ... not Vets.

Some of the sets at Haggertys were bigger!

Your explanation of surf and how it affects Vets deserves major props! I think you hit the nail right on the head regarding the "very narrow swell window".

What site did you get the swell animation from? It's WAY COOL!

 

[Mo2vation]

I could listen to surfers talk all day

I'm serious. Knowledgeable, experienced surfers (think not Spicoli) - they're some of my favorite people. You guys know the water so well - you know the sites, the breaks, the hydrodynamics and geography - I love it all.

Last night Claudette and I were the only ones at Vets. It wasn't small. Going out wasn't too tough, but it was among the more challenging entries of the year - this year of very tiny surf for SoCal diving.

The exit was a little tougher. The rollers were way, WAY big - bigger than we've seen all year. One was so big it blocked out the entire horizon and sky as it rolled by - I totally thought I was scootering back OUT to sea. When it finally broke and I could see the street light, I could feel my heart drop.

Most of the waves were shore breaks in close - just curling and falling straight down on themselves (making for the toughest re-entry for a diver.) And the worst part is they were unpredictable. You'd have the timing down, the sets dialed, and then out of the blue would come these washboards.... bam-bam-bam... way too close to prepare for.

I bet the farm on the second of two very large waves that rolled over me that the larger second one was the last - so I picked up my scooter and RAN in (I'd already clipped off my fins.) I got in without incident.

Claudette got a little caught in the wash, but got out.

We were both shaking when we got back to the cars.

It was a good feeling to come out OK.

I went back today at low tide (about 1:30) and everything south of Topaz to Long Point was UNREAL. There were people lining the cliff just to watch the show.

Vets was not too bad - with the occasional 5 footer. Rick's right - it is protected from a straight on attack. The swells were breaking OVER the breakwater at the harbor. Topaz jetty was hosting lots of surfers and body boarders, but the jetty was pretty much foamed over.

Jaye and I went on a date to the shore tonight to watch the show. Its high 2nd tide tonight. It wasn't nearly as violent as this afternoon, but there was still lots of water moving. The shore breaks were still pretty nasty.

Saturday will be quite diveable - but the vis will likely be poor.

---
Ken

 

[drbill]

Well, we got the three dives in yesterday. Of course they were boat dives in the lee of Catalina so although they involved a lot of water movement, both vertical and horizontal, it wasn't anything like what you mainlanders were experiencing.

Our first dive at Little Farnsworth was actually the best as the water movement there at the south end of the island was not as bad as at Sea Fan Grotto or Long Point. Of course vis was rather poor due to resuspended particulates and the water movement rarely allowed me to plant myself to take any usable video.

As for you surfers, you'll never see me on a board again (it was a sad sight the first time I tried anyway)... I'm not willing to become shark bait!