Spring break .. usually a down time in Southern California as there is a lull period .. the end of storm swells from the far North West and just the beginning of action from the Southern Hemisphere .. but some times you get lucky!
After a week of small but fun, fun, glassy peaks at Blackies, Newport Beach northside Seal Pier got into the act the past two mornings! Clean uncrowded conditions after the "Easter Parade" waist to shoulder high with the rare head high "Harvey Wallbanger" left hander off the bounce from the sea wall and "Suicide Rights" off the middle peak right into the break wall. My Ozzie buddy Stuart (Bruce 11) and I picked off one after another low tide screamers! My first wave Friday morning was a head high 100 yard Pier Bowl, take off in the steep jack up next to the pier, come off the bottom hard and drive up under the lip, pump for speed, duck under the cover up, blast through to the wall, slice and dice through the inside traffic, all the way to the sand!
Harvey Wallbanger
1 oz Grey Goose® Vodka
1/2 oz Galliano® Herbal liqueur
4 oz Orange juice
Pour vodka and orange juice into a tall Collins glass over ice cubes and stir. Float Galliano on top and serve with a sprig of mint and twist of orange peel.
"The most dominant swell source is from mid-latitude depressions tracking across the North Pacific, typically born around Kamchatka and Aleutian Islands and striking land in Western Canada or the Northwest U.S. The swells from these lows come in from a west or north-westerly direction and are biggest in winter (October to March). Quite long-period swells are possible due to large propagation distances, especially if the depressions deepen at the beginning of their trajectory. Spots further north receive higher swell but area also more susceptible to out-of-control conditions. Further south, waves are cleaner but smaller. Also, southwest-facing beaches of Southern California receive southerly swells, almost exclusively in summer (June to August), from Southern-Ocean mid-latitude depressions as well as from hurricanes off Central America. The high seasonal variation in wave height, typical of the Northern Hemisphere, is somewhat offset by the presence of these southerly swells."
Spots further north receive higher swell but area also more susceptible to out-of-control conditions. Further south, waves are cleaner but smaller. Also, southwest-facing beaches of Southern California receive southerly swells, almost exclusively in summer (June to August), from Southern-Ocean mid-latitude depressions as well as from hurricanes off Central America. The high seasonal variation in wave height, typical of the Northern Hemisphere, is somewhat offset by the presence of these southerly swells."
