Surf's Up! Locals Hit the Waves

Huge waves hitting Southland beaches the past few days have been quite the rage, thanks to a long-period swell that has blasted Southern California with estimated wave heights topping 20 feet at Newport Beach's infamous The Wedge.

Throughout it all, one thing remains clear: Mother Nature always has the upper hand.

“We've had several rescues [over the past few days], and those rescues were on people who were experienced, and also [other] people that overestimated their abilities,” said Los Angeles County lifeguard captain Greg Lee of the surf at Manhattan Beach Pier, noting that “The face of the wave is four to 10 feet [Friday].”  

“When the surf gets larger, the rescues get longer and more dangerous," said Lee. "We have had some extremely long rescues that involved a good pounding by the waves on our rescuers and the victims.”

The biggest waves in the South Bay, according to lifeguards, have been hitting at First Street in Manhattan Beach and north.

Safety must always be a consideration when going into the ocean, and this swell has been undiscriminating. That is not to say the waves have been insurmountable by a experienced, fit wave rider.

Local E.T. Surf Shop employee Dan Connell loved the surf.

“I was actually looking for a rip[tide] to help take me out,” admitted Connell, who surfed two different surfboards Friday. “It was just more of a side-shore current [as opposed to riptides], sweeping me south to north.”

“Yeah, there are some long 'lefts' [left-breaking waves],” said Connell of the quality of the waves he surfed in. “Bodyboarders were ruling today.”

However, conditions deteriorated a bit as the tide rose and the wind picked up Friday afternoon.

Pepper drummer Yesod Williams of Redondo Beach paddled out on a surfboard at Manhattan Beach Pier as the waves started to diminish a bit in size and crumble a bit more on the face. He remained upbeat about the experience after getting out of the water.

“It was super fun—this is the first real swell we've had in awhile, since me and Muy [Muy Ses, singer for Tomorrows Bad Seeds] got off of [The Vans] Warped Tour,” said Williams.  “The 'rights' [right-breaking waves] going into the pier were super fun. I'll be back tomorrow morning, too.”

“Even if I go out and have the worst session ever, I still come in way more positive than when I paddled out,” said Williams about why he chose to ride the waves, despite the mid-afternoon decline in quality.

“The paddle-out was f---'n brutal,” added Ses, who joined Williams in the surf. “Be aware—the ocean's nothing to play with.”

Some beach-goers with a bit of experience riding waves decided to stay out of the surf.

Dominique Waninger and Paul Vandervort of Hollywood, who normally surf North Manhattan Beach's El Porto, decided just to spectate and enjoy the view.

“We wanted to check them [the waves] out. We brought a board just in case. It doesn't look like it today,” said Vandervort.

“It's just amazing to see how beautiful the big waves are—it's just awesome,” said Waninger.

If you go out in large surf, it's all about being smart.

“Time your entry and exit from the water—the swells are coming in sets [of waves] numbering 3-8 waves per set," said Lee. "And then there's long lulls between the largest sets. Watch before you go out: that's what the Hawaiians always tell us to do."