January 23, 2012 Monday

This incredible photo was attached to an email I received this morning from Kahuna Mike of the Riviera Wave Riders, a group like us who surf at Torrance Beach in the South Bay of Los Angeles.

"Aloha,

Monday, January 23, 2012, 11:00 AM; in the middle of a rain storm

'Just when we are thinking we are going to have to wait until this storm blows through to get our surf stoke going; we end up receiving photos like these taken just minutes ago.

Our surf friend Monica lives here near Torrance Beach and had her camera handy when this rainbow; which only lasted minutes; came through.

Not only did Monica catch a fantastic rainbow, but look at that wave and surf rider she caught as well. We're sure the few surfers who are out there are super stoked. A big mahalo to Monica for taking these photos and sharing them with all of us.

Surfs Up! - Riviera Wave Riders"

Torrance Beach is where I learned to surf in the late 50's and early 60's and believe me it never looked like this. It's just a typical beach break, better at high tide and exposed to afternoon westerly winds (like OB or Dillon's up here). So I forwarded this to my friend Jay the Manhattan Beach architect with a comment that I have never seen Torrance this good. Jay also grew up learning to surf at Torrance Beach in the 60's. Here's Jay's response -

"Yeah, the surf's been pumping. Of all the South Bay beach breaks, the Avenues and Torrance have been the most under control.

I didn't see a rainbow today - it has been raining off and on. I did surf yesterday, though. It was well overhead and really clean. I walked from 30th Street down to Marine (in Manhattan Beach) where it looked a little more manageable. I was lucky and got out with only two bombs to duck dive. The waves were really well shaped, considering the size, and there were a moderate number of guys out. I was a little intimidated for about thirty minutes. It was pretty big. I finally caught an OK wave, big carving turn and over the top. I didn't want to get caught inside. A few minutes later, a real nice one came my way: dropped in, turned right, went up high, sped through a good section, cut back, then it let down and I was hopelessly stuck inside. So I went in. I felt good I even got out and caught a wave!

You're right, Torrance NEVER was any good except for summer time slop. But things have changed: Under the right conditions, Torrance and Rat Beach (the south end of Torrance Beach) can get good! I surfed Rat during that really big swell three weeks ago. It was REALLY big, and there was a bad wind. Torrance and Rat are now partially protected by a nice kelp bed (note - there weren't any kelp beds in the 60's) so Rat was still head high and pretty smooth. There's a little mini-left rock reef there now, which never was before, a kind of a "Lower-Lowers Haggerty's". You should have seen Haggerty's (located at the base of the Palos Verdes cliffs, a prime left break over some heavy rock shelves that only breaks on strong north swells) - there were 300 guys out, multiple drop-ins on every wave, etc. Total chaos. More guys surf outside Hag's now, especially when it's huge. - Jay"

So the storm that caused Candlestick Park to turn to slop for yesterday's 49er's - Giants playoff game where the Niners lost in overtime had moved down the coast to Manhattan and Torrance beaches. Today, our breaks were still torn up from the winds. But over the four hundred mile journey, the swell cleaned up forming perfect peaks for the breaks around Los Angeles.

Many thanks to Monica, Kahuna Mike and the Riviera Wave Riders for sharing this "End of the Rainbow" gem.