Watch: The Best of Wintertime California Wax On, Wacks Off features Ian Crane, Yadin Nicol, Caroline Marks, Pat Gudauskas, Eithan Osborne
Surfline
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It was only a couple short months ago where it seemed like North Pacific Overdrive just wouldn’t stop weeks and weeks of pumping surf all up and down the Golden State. (Check out some O’Neill Regional Wave of the Winter entries here.) But time moves on, as it does, and the seasons change and while the North Pacific hasn’t called it quits for the year just yet, many California surfers are already a bit nostalgic about December and January. The edit above featuring Ian Crane, Yadin Nicol, Caroline Marks, Pat Gudauskas and Eithan Osborne, who logged many miles up and down the coast illustrates exactly why.
The weather clears and the hangover ends this weekend.
Favorable trade winds greet the the largest northwest swell to hit the Islands in nearly a month. All the big-name breaks from Pipe to Waimea, and some of the (semi) off-the-beaten-path spots should have a moment to shine. And in case you haven’t checked the calendar, it’s Valentine’s Day (and President’s Day) weekend. If you love XL-surf, but your significant other doesn’t, be sure to ask permission (or beg forgiveness) before scheduling your weekend water time.
Keep your eyes out at the end of the week as our coverage ramps up with the incoming swell. Look for a fresh Swell Event (that’s the big purple bar at the top of the homepage and the top of your favorites on the app) and takeovers on all of our social channels on Friday morning. As we showed during the long-running, back-to-back-to-back-to-back North Pacific swells of North Pacific Overdrive, we’ll get you as close as we can without getting you wet. Look
Watch Now: A Raucous Intermission at Killers
Between XXL Maverick’s and XXL Hawaii, Todos Santos seduced a handful of the big-wave elite.
Greg Long. Photo: Billy Watts
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On Sunday, January 10th, as an XXL swell peaked at Maverick’s, the initial forerunners from the same storm manifested some 1,500 miles away at Baja Mexico’s legendary big-wave spot: Killers, Todos Santos. Though the nearshore buoys were already slam-dancing well before dawn on Monday, January 11th, the action was slow as a high tide forced a two-hour lull.
By the time the tide bottomed out mid-afternoon, Killers was pumping. The same high pressure system that kept the storm away from Maverick’s also helped ensure a clean arrival here in Mexico for the long-period energy, which wasn’t getting jammed up by any local, short-period swell. The sun was shining and the winds were light and variable all day long. Fresh out of the brine after a demented dream run at Maverick
Jaws, Outer Reefs, and Waimea on Saturday and then more macking days at Maverick’s
Jamie Mitchell, Jaws, Photo: Fred Pompermayer
Charlie Hutcherson
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The North Pacific is ready to pull us all back in. (Not that we ever really left.) Over the past couple weeks, we documented North Pacific Overdrive back-to-back-to-back-to-back North Pacific swells with realtime coverage from Pipeline, Mav’s, and countless other breaks. When it felt like things were coming back to reality, our coverage went into semi-retirement but the Pacific basin isn’t done flexing yet. (And yes we’ll be documenting this one in realtime, too. Stay tuned.)