Is That It? California Sees (More) Days of Pumping Surf
More North Pacific swell, offshore winds cap off a weeks-long run for the Golden State
San Diego. Photo: Tanner Olthoff
Marcus Sanders
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Good chance, if you live in Hawaii or on the West Coast, you’ve just about run out of excuses for missing any kind of work or familial obligations by now. Can’t really hide a head tan on a Zoom call or broken surfboards in the garage from a loved one. As we’ve been reporting, over the course of the last number of weeks, the North Pacific has barely stopped for a coffee break. (Stand by for some stats on how this run stacks up.)
Pumping Surf Isn’t Over Yet, California
Strong WNW swells, periods of offshore wind in the next few days before the NPAC finally slows down late month
A couple weeks back. Photo: Jeremiah Klein
Kevin Wallis
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Anyone sick of all the action in the North Pacific yet? Yeah, neither are we (although some sleep for our forecast and editorial teams would be nice). Good thing, too, as the NPAC still has some gas left in the tank. This latest round of swells will favor Hawaii for size – similar to the first pulse that opened this incredible run of surf nearly a month and a half ago – but the West Coast has a few more days of large to locally XL surf before things finally quiet down during the final third of January.
Day of the Decade? A Comparative Look at Three XXL Maverick s Swells
Here s where December 8th, 2020 lands, from the numbers
December 8th, 2020. Photo: Jeremiah Klein
Kevin Wallis
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There have been a lot of superlatives thrown at the session that went down at Maverick’s two weeks ago: Best Ever, Day of Days, All Time, etc. While it wasn’t the biggest swell at Mav’s by any means, it was amongst the largest paddle swells we’ve seen in the past decade with absolutely pristine conditions. This most recent swell was big enough to get the Maverick’s Outer Bowl working which starts to break when wave faces reach roughly 45-50 feet and guys like Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, Pete Mel, and Kai Lenny sat out the back to chip in on those glassy monsters before screaming through the normal takeoff spot.
Local s Perspective On Day of Days at Maverick’s
Catching up with longtime NorCal Mav s vets about Tuesday, December 8th
HMB local Luca Padua, December 8th. Photo: Kenan Chan
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By August Howell
As we extensively reported (see links above), Maverick’s saw its best day in recent memory last Tuesday. Consistent 40-foot faces greeted some of the world’s best surfers from sunup to sundown. And while the swell on December 8th peaked to a burly 17 feet @ 19 seconds, the wind stayed mellow all day, allowing for some truly jaw-dropping surfing to take place.
As Maverick’s pioneer Jeff Clark put it: “It’s the biggest, most consistent, powerful swell we’ve had since 2010.”
In a Year Riddled With Uncertainty, We Bought More Boards Than Ever
Months after COVID-19 crippled the global economy, shapers are struggling to keep up with new demand.
Ryan Burch. Photo: Billy Watts
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By: Matt Faludi
Jason Bennett can’t remember the last time he’s seen so many new surfers in the water.
“I go down on the weekends and see soft-top after soft-top on top of cars,” said Jason, co-owner and head shaper at Chemistry Surfboards in Oceanside, CA. “I haven’t seen a rush like this since I’ve been surfing.”
Back in March, Jason couldn’t have predicted the hardgoods boom the surfing world would experience throughout 2020. No one could’ve. Retailers around the world shuttered their doors while following shelter-in-place orders, forcing them to cancel new orders and making it harder to sell any existing stock they had. Record unemployment and beach closures and/or restrictions around the country certainly didn’t offer any peace