February 4, 2008 Monday

Ocean Beach	Sloat Ave
10:00 am	Huge (10’ to 15’)
High tide (6.1 ft)	Strong north wind
Clear and windy	Unrideable, nobody was out

 

I took the above photo in the parking lot at Sloat Ave at the end of the Great Highway at 9:45 am in the morning. On my drive home from the San Francisco Airport, returning from my Superbowl Sunday trip to Palos Verdes, I took my usual path along the coast to check out the waves. I turned onto the Great Highway, came over the rise to get my first view of the ocean and my mouth dropped. “It’s huge!” Miles of white water lined the entire Ocean Beach and the outside reefs were breaking. One knows the swell is huge when waves are breaking over the distant reefs on the horizon. That’s right, the horizon; these reefs are miles out to sea.

“I have my camera in the car, take a picture,” I said to myself. For the above photo, I used my 300 mm telephoto lens cranked to full power. Thus this wave is breaking several hundred yards out. I estimate that this wave is close to 15 ft. high. 

There’s no doubt that Mavericks is breaking today. I saw Mavericks from a distance in the plane. From my window seat I watched the California coastline the entire trip. I pride myself in being able to recognize the major surf breaks from the air. I saw Malibu, which was breaking, the big rock at Leo Carillo State Park (Secas), which was also breaking, County Line had white water and Rincon was flat. As the plane was descending into the Bay Area, I could see far ahead the hill at Pilar Point with the Air Force radar domes. I saw Ship Rock and a large “vee” of white water far out from the rock. Yes, it was breaking. 

After taking some photos at Sloat Ave, I traveled the length of the Great Highway, passed the Cliff House and stopped at Loui’s diner for breakfast. What a great place with a spectacular view. While enjoying hamburger steak and eggs, I watched the waves crash on Seal Rock, the great blue sea and hundreds of sea gulls as they swarmed around the pools of rainwater in the ruins of the Sutro Baths. 

It was good ending to my Superbowl Sunday trip.