Cold and Rain

Very cold this morning and a stiff NE wind is driving temps even further south. Surf wise there is not much happening. Ankle to knee high breaking right on shore. Sea surface is choppy and wind blown with some white capping here and there. But, it is not crowded. Not crowded at all! No one out. No one even here looking.

Except me and some bedraggled sea gulls.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Short period windswell

Local windswell generated knee to waist high surf this morning. Poor shape; breaking close in. Gusty southeast side shore winds. Moderately poor sea surface conditions. Dropping tide. Water temps still in mid 60's; air temps in the upper 40's. 4 people out.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Not as cold

As it has been but still kinda frosty. And the wind is not helping. Knee to maybe thigh high surf this morning. Not much to it but there are 6 people out trying to make something of it. Lots of pelicans, cormorants and dolphins feasting on the bait fish buffet just outside of the lineup.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Big, mean, cold and windy

It's too cold for me but not for the 20 or so already out.


Head to overhead with poor shape. Lined up, walled up and closing out. Offshore winds clocking in at about 10 mph so there's a significant windchill factor going on. Wear your hood!

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary

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Mele Kalikimaka

And this is what you get after a night of onshore wind: stormy, choppy and generally crappy conditions. Surf is running head to overhead and is relentless in its march shoreward. No one out; or even here.

So, you're sad that you can't get out and try out any new surf gear you got this morning. Then check out today's Google doodle

It should bring a smile to your face

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Lower tide; more juice

Shoulder to head high, larger on the sets and breaking hard. Inconsistent with not much between sets. Largest just south of the reef but the reef has plenty of size. Lots of morning sickness on the water; large rips and a river like south current. 25 people in the line up.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Big West Walls

Size has ticked up a notch this morning. Mostly shoulder to head high with some very large sets. Short to medium period stuff; the lines are right on top of each other. Poor to fair shape. The sets are lined up and closing out so its the in-between waves that you are hunting for. Tide is on the rise so the reef is softening up some but Tres Palms continues to pitch out and explode on the sandbar.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Slow decline

But still some substantial surf. Shoulder to head with plus stuff on the sets. Fair to poor shape. Slightly rippled sea surface. Calm winds. Super high morning tides continue to make it sluggish. Long lulls. Positioning is tricky; you want to be close enough in but far enough out so you can scratch over the occasional 8 foot sets. Tres Palms is wickedly tubular.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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So, where did all this come from?

According to all of the experts today was supposed to be an in between day. One where the previous swell slips away and a new one is on the horizon but not here yet. Someone should have shared that prediction with mama O cause it looks like she didn't get the memo.

Shoulder to head high with larger sets. Almost due west so it's sort of lined up and closing out. Some corners at either end of the reef. Tres Palms is doing its best Pipeline imitation. Good surface conditions. High tide (6.0). Light off shores.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Still post storm stuff

Waist to chest high junk this morning. Sea surface is chunky and the inside is a mess of white water, rips and currents. Wind is offshore right now and cold. The swell is a mix of short period wind swell and some medium period groundswell which produces the dreaded "double up". And then there's the backwash from the surf bouncing off the bluffs. Both water quality and conditions could clean up by tomorrow, so stand by. 5 people out.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Pretty Hacked Up

After a long night of wind and rain we have...? That's right, post storm surf. No wind right now but the sea surface is a lumpy, bumpy mess. Surf is in the waist to shoulder range with head high sets with poor to no shape. There is a very strong south current and plenty of rips up and down the beach. There are 2 people out however, former health officials (that would be me) strongly advise waiting at least 48 hours after a rain event before paddling out into the line up. Best to avoid immersing oneself in the urban vomit that is now streaming untreated and unchecked into the ocean.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Large and In Charge

Substantial WNW swell pulsing this morning. 8-10 feet on the sets. And with so much west in the swell the shape is horrible; long tall walls closing out top to bottom. Strong offshore wind at present.
Tide is on the way out but it's still up against the bluffs right now. Some lulls but a 6 foot shore break is hampering efforts to punch through to the line up. 5 people out.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Smaller surf...smaller crowd too

Size has dropped into the waist to chest zone; sets are slightly larger. Conditions are very clean with an almost glassy sea surface. Shape is fair to good. Best surf this morning is on the reef and the south peak just off the reef. Air temp in upper 40's and water temps have dipped under 65. 15 people out.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Intense rain, heavy seas

The ocean is raging cauldron of spume and spray this morning. A wind driven rain is attempting to penetrate my rain gear and is stinging my face. Hard to gauge the size since no one is out but I'm guesstimating in the 7-8 foot range. So, it's storm surf; powerful and intensely mesmerizing. I really should come in from the rain now.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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It's here...

Large surf on tap this morning. Chest to head is the norm; overhead on the sets. Shape is kinda wonky. Set waves are top to bottom close outs and the in between stuff is ok; not great but ok. More than a few have taken a second look once down on the beach and simply turned around and left. Some have not been able to make it out and some have simply disappeared into the fog as the current has swept them southward. Fair surface conditions; tide is on the way up and there is a light NE breeze. I'm counting close to 40 out.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Mostly West...Some North

Waist to chest surf on tap this morning. Larger on the sets. Because of the swell direction it's mostly walled up and closing out; especially the set waves. Somewhat inconsistent but not so much that you're just sitting, sitting, sitting; the waves are popping up in some unexpected places so you're always on the move. As Frank said..."it's hard out there man...". Good surface conditions with a slight NE breeze. Air temp in lower 50's; water temp in mid 60's. 35+ people out.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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More swell

About the same size as the weekend but more consistent. Short period WNW swell with knee to waist high surf with fair shape. Glassy conditions, 9 people out. Incoming tide hasn't hit it's peak but it has pushed the line up close to shore. The sandbars at Tres Palms have the snappiest surf while the reef is softer and more of a challenge to get into.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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You first.

No really; I insist. I'm right behind you. Watching from the bluffs. People, the ocean is full of crap and will be till Sunday.


It's just a little rain you say and besides DM is not near any storm drains right? Wrong...

This one at the lifeguard tower (which by the way received the washout from the daily hosing down of the bathrooms there)...



And this one that drains right into the 15th street line up...


Signs and everything...

Having said that, the surf is knee to waist high and slow. And getting slower as the tide peaks at 6.4 around 7:30 this morning. It ain't worth it. Just chill you're not missing anything. Except a possible case of hepatitis or some sort of gastrointestinal disease or never ending sinus infection.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary

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Such a Strange Storm

Strange as in no wind. Perfectly glassy conditions this morning and not a breath of air moving. And except for the 6.2 high tide, some good looking surf too. Waist to chest high with fair to good shape. Light sprinkles at the moment and no one out.

Which brings me to the poo index or urban drool report. It's extreme (11 on a scale of 10) and will stay that way for at least 48 hours after the rain stops. Waiting 72 hours is even better.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Offshores and Balmy

It may rain later today but right now it's just spectacular weather and conditions. Warm, gentle offshore breezes, close to glassy conditions and some of the most dramatic lighting I've seen in a while. The sky is darkly grey and the water jade green.

The surf is on the small side this morning but there are some nicely shaped knee to waist high waves. It's only an hour off a 5.8 high tide so it's slow and breaking close in. But it's very clean and surf able with the right gear.

Bring on the rain....

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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A tad inconsistent

Fun, knee to waist high surf this morning. Glassy conditions and a very light crowd (10). It's only two hours off high tide and that is effecting shape, size and consistency. Breaking close in. So things should improve with less water. And if the wind stays down.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Not what it seems

In between brief periods of flatness there are some shoulder to head high sets pushing through. Sets are lined up and closing out for the most part. I'd say this morning's session probably has its moments but there's a lot of waiting for those moments. Good surface conditions, moderate crowd.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Better Tide

Still coming up to a 6.2 high tide but not until 9:30. Chest to shoulder high surf this morning with fair shape. More consistent than Sunday. Somewhat crumbly but there are some decent corners on the sets. There's some surface texture and for a Monday, a large crowd (30+). Overall, it's better than mowing the lawn.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Hard to Believe

But there is actually someone out in this seething, heaving, boiling post storm mess. He's way south and off the peak but hey, he's out there.

As you would expect conditions and surf are less than ideal this morning. Shoulder to head high storm surf all over the place. Winds are actually calm on the beach but it's white capping further out. This is going to move some sand around and depending on how long the wind lasts, begin to lower water temps.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Day 2

Once again, flat with periods of intense flatness. Ankle high shore break is about the best surf you'll find this morning. No one out at the reef and surf PE is beginning to put in at Tres Palms. A SE breeze has put in wrinkle on the water and the high tide was about 15" ago. There are some waves forecast to arrive later today but until then you'll have to find other ways to enjoy the ocean.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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