Get Ready to Rage, SoCal

The seas will be angry this weekend.
Looks like some epic conditions forecast. I'll be out Saturday afternoon if any locals want to join. Probably paddling out of the Ventura harbor as I dont want to navigate massive surf, but am possibly open to a Mondo's or Goleta downwind if the wind forecast holds and we can find a protected outlet. Small craft advisory all weekend, needless to say. 

San Francisco has up to 14ft @ 19 second swell predicted! thats some seriously long period! 
Maverick's is expected to have 23' @14 second shorebreak. 

I'm ready to Rage! 

From NOAA - 
FRI N winds 10 to 15 kt, becoming NW 10 to 20 kt with gusts to 25 kt by the afternoon. Combined seas 11 to 13 ft  dominant period 16 seconds.

SAT NW winds 10 to 20 kt, becoming 20 to 30 kt by the afternoon. Combined seas 11 to 14 ft dominant period 16 seconds. (Maybe a Mondos DW?)

SUN N winds 10 to 20 kt with gusts to 25 kt. Combined seas 9 to 12 ft. (maybe a Mondo's DW?)

Pretty rough confused seas out there today with 15c water temp. Good wind angle though. Mondos run will be a bit of a challenge due to confused sea state. Be careful and have fun out there Marcus.

www.surfline.com/surf-report/ventura-poi...970dbb6f23001cd20dd7

Mother nature did not disappoint today. 8' @ 14 seconds swell, 20+kt wind, 1 to 1.5' wind wave, steep, open water breaking waves... it was Rowdy! Buoy data from the closest one attached, though closer to shore I bet the wind was closer to 20 with occasional bursts near 30. 6' / double overhead waves were the smallest, with some triple overhead+ standouts. the WNW + WSW swell combo made it slightly interesting, but overall it wasn't the worst I've seen. the swell was so big it flattened out the wind waves so between the giants it was rather smooth. That said, I had multiple breaking waves break on me. The top 1-2' was often  crumbling and I took a couple right in the upper chest or head. It was basically like paddling through 2'+ surf, but 1/2 mile off shore. Rowdy.

although most of the swell was too fast to catch, when the WSW smaller swell boosted me on to the 8' WNW primary it was sublime. I was screaming down the face of one of the biggest sets of the night and I was going so fast that I started skipping over the smaller bumps (the 1' wind waves) and started crashing through and over them to the point I thought is it possible to get bucked off a ski? I dont know if I can trust the reading fully, but the GPS said 19mph for that run. Felt close to that at least.

Separately, I have to say this is the biggest (though not the messiest) conditions ive taken the swordfish out in. Man do I love this boat. the secondary just keeps coming. No bow slap. reliable to the point that I kicked my feet over the side and just quietly watched the sun set in the middle of it all. If I could only have 1 boat (which I do), its the SF-S all day. The speed to stability ratio + its handling with a DK rudder + its wave magnet design is about as good as it gets IMO.

Hopefully we get some more days like this!

Another heads up to anyone in the Oxnard to Goleta area, the seas will be raging Sunday. 30ish kt wind with 7-11 foot seas predicted. 

Looks like the wind and waves die significantly south and east of Point Mugu, but I bet the LA/Longbeach/Oceanside area still gets some good waves pushed down that way. The Wedge might be pumping for the surfers

Good times!

NOAA 
Sun
Western portion, NW winds 10 to 15 kt becoming 25 to 35 kt in the afternoon. Eastern portion, winds variable 10 kt or less becoming W 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon. Combined seas 4 to 6 ft dominant period 13 seconds, building to 8 to 11 ft dominant period 7 seconds in the afternoon.

Sun Night
Western portion, NW winds 30 to 40 kt. Eastern portion, NW winds 20 to 30 kt. Combined seas 11 to 14 ft dominant period 8 seconds.

A monster has been created! Go get em Marcus. Don't forget to call in a float plan to the harbor patrol.
Some additional info:

Growing confidence for very dangerous sea conditions Sunday and Monday. Gale Force winds (35-45 knots) are likely over all waters, with a 60 percent chance of Storm Force Wind gusts (50 knots) beyond 10 miles from shore from Point Arguello to San Nicolas
Island. These winds will generate very steep seas everywhere, from 8-12 feet at 8 seconds from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, to
18-22 feet at 12 seconds from the Central Coast to San Nicolas
Island. This is a rare event, with conditions like this occurring
once every 5 to 10 years. It is strongly encouraged for mariners
to plan on staying in safe harbor Sunday and Monday.

Last time I paddled in conditions like this I realized at a third of the way into it that I had made a mistake, but there is no turning back! Was very happy to make it back in the harbor. And also, very happy my leash didn't break the half dozen or more times I got ejected from my ski. The forecast says 8'-12'. I would anticipate waves 15'-18' at 8 seconds at the Ventura Harbor.
Be careful and good luck!

Just thought I would edit this one more time:
Here's one reason it is very important to file (call in) a float plan with local authorities. If a good Samaritan calls in a 911 emergency call about some one out in the ocean in extreme conditions, a very expensive multi agency rescue effort will be initiated. The US COAST GUARD may well find you engaged in a manifestly unsafe voyage and charge you for the response. By contacting the local Harbor Patrol this scenario will most likely be avoided.

Good info Kirk. Looks like I'll probably target late morning to early afternoon before things get too crazy. once things get over 20-25kt I think the fun diminishes and it trends towards 'fight for your life', at least on our part of the ocean. 5-6' @ 7 seconds is about perfect in my book. Once wave height exceeds interval it gets unmanageable quickly. Cant imagine how steep 12'@7sec is and dont want to.

Once thing I like about paddling out of the harbor is that you can judge how bad things are immediately and can turn around in short order if its too extreme. The biggest days i pretty much do 1/2 mile runs out and back to the harbor. That Mondos run has no bailout like you say. Once you launch, you're in the $hit till the end

McImes....

Are you still going? I was thinking Gaviota to SB this afternoon but looks like WAY to much N in predictions.
Most likely doing Leo Carrillo to MDR if Monday's forecasts hold. Had a fun Topanga 2 Redondo with the stiff North last week... Maybe can connect sometime if it gets nuking again.

Matt

Hey Venice,
Yes, definitely going out still. Im not sure where or when I'll go since it looks like the forecast is changing to more NW like you're saying and the wind dies closer to shore, but the swell prediction is still pretty solid. Im open to ideas as the forecast closes in.

Send me a text or call to exchange numbers. 9five2-2one2-5seven9O

Cheers,
Marcus

According to Windy, Monday in Newport will be worth checking out - although 6ft wind waves might still be a little bit out of my league - but I will catch the tail end of it. I went out today, perfectly calm, beautiful day - will be a nice contrast with the next few days.

Surfline, specifically the Newport wedge camera is awesome for judging the conditions out there, not sure how many of you use it. A lot of times, the visual conditions are a lot different than NOAA or windy.

Fath2o wrote:
Last time I paddled in conditions like this I realized at a third of the way into it that I had made a mistake, but there is no turning back! Was very happy to make it back in the harbor. And also, very happy my leash didn't break the half dozen or more times I got ejected from my ski.

Depending on your leash several times sounds very dangerous. Wonder if is safer to use the waveski type seatbelt. Those guys play in the big waves, and don't separate from their boat.

Well yesterday turned out to be a colossal bust considering the 'once every several years' forecast. Although I could see a wall of spray and sea fog blanketing the islands 20 miles out and Im sure the wind was 30kt+ well offshore, near shore it was dead calm. Like, hardly a breeze.

I could tell the wind was pumping hard not too far away though, because we had consistent 4' medium period (~12 second) swell coming in consistently, with standout sets easily double overhead, but they were too shallow and fast to be of any use. They just taunted me as the large walls of water passed under. There was hardly more than a riffle between the swell, so nothing to boost me on to it at all. 

Unfortunately in this case the short term forecast was dead on - epic wind starting 10-20 miles off shore, with a dead calm eddy gently swirling between the wind and the costal mountains. 

So oh well, I guess I'll hope for the next epic wind event soon!

Finally some wind! 30kt gusting to 37. Raging seas. Consistent 6'+ waves  with standouts over 7'. Short period, 5-6 second, but FAST in spite of the short period. Too fast to hop on unless you caught a boost from secondary swell or found a good hole to drop in on.

Rowdy, steep, open water breaking waves. I was a half mile off shore and just turned around to go downwind after slogging upwind at a pathetic 3kts for what felt like forever.

I heard a crash behind me and looked back to see a standout crumbling on itself a few waves back, looked like a monster 8'+ set. I hammered hard - the first couple leading waves passed under me with a nice boost but then a hard stall on the backside. Then the big one came. Although I was almost completely stopped, it was so steep I hardly had to paddle to catch it. It violently picked up my tail and I wobbled for a second. I felt like I was looking straight down for a moment, then took off like a rocket down the steep face. As I started to fly down the face I quickly turned to the side and hammer hard to stay on it. 

Pow, did it - a hole opened up in front of me and I hopped the wave in front. That run died out and the monster in the middle of the set caught me again. This time it started to curl over and the top foot or 2 began to break just as it picked me up again. I sprinted hard and caught the best run of the night - the wave continued to crumble behind me and pushed me along for a good ride. It felt just like riding small shorebreak, but I was 6' up on a wave with another 2' of white water pushing me and a half mile out! Rowdy. 

I went for 2 unexpected swims and 2 intentional practice remounts. Although it always feels sketchy in the moment (looking at steep 6' waves or whatever), I always practice remounts in the worst conditions I paddle in. I think this practice is key to having confidence in the big stuff and not worrying too much about falling out. I fall out all the time (though mostly when stopped, dicking around, or chasing a ferry wake). 

One learning lesson of the night - one of the times i went for an unintentional swim I was on the downwind side and had to pop under the boat to get upwind to remount. I went under the bucket but the ski slipped out of my hand for a split second and blew (a few feet) away! Of course I was leashed to the boat and had no problem getting it back, but I always try to act as if I dont have a leash and maintain hand contact with the boat at all times. I will be more careful when going under the ski next time!

The jet stream is not sending any consistent wind to southern california this year, so I am very happy to have a good windy night! Looks like the next week might provide a couple more waves of wind too. 

In spite of all the corona virus madness, at least the ocean remains the same. Stay well everyone