Tag Archives: waves

The Secret Beach

Being lucky is so cool. I don’t know how many excellent opportunities I have missed without realizing it (that’s the benefit of not realizing it), but I have been fortunate to stumble into some good stuff. We were driving down towards Hilo when we came to an overlook above a bay. We pulled over and walked up to the edge to see a great view down into a lovely looking bay. The waves were crashing in from the ocean and the place looked cool. We were so close to moving on after a few minutes.

Just before we turned to go, we saw a couple of people down on a headland in the bay. We weren’t in a hurry so we figured we would head down the trail and see what was there. The area was butted up against a botanic garden which we weren’t planning on visiting so we knew we wouldn’t go far. As we got to the bottom of the trail, we came to an entrance to the garden with a security guard sitting watch over who came through. Then we saw a small side track alongside the fence heading to the water. A short excursion brought us to a beach. The waves were crashing up on the shore by our feet and everything was covered over with a dense canopy of trees. A little climb took me out onto a spur of rock with the waves crashing either side. A rocky cliff face was on one side and the waves were striking it violently.

There was a small blowhole in the rock near where I stood. As the waves came in just right, the water would fire out of the hole. Other times nothing would happen or there would be a small gurgle. I talked to a couple of guys out there who obviously knew the place well. They pointed out how far out you could go without getting completely drenched by the waves. More importantly, it looked like the sort of place that you could get caught out by a wave easily. If you went into the water, I suspect it could have ended badly.

Forget that though. The place was gorgeous. When the guys left, we were the only ones there. The waves were pounding the shore, the scenery was stunning and you felt like you were the only person in the world who knew it was there. It was hard to break away. We stood there for ages. Sometimes the waves would come that bit further up the beach than normal and they would wash over my feet. No point in objecting. Just stand there and enjoy it. Of course, we had to leave eventually. Those visiting the botanic garden had a promontory a short distance away but they were really not in a good position to enjoy the experience because they were on one of the nicer parts. We met a couple coming down the trail as we left. They looked ready to turn back and had not seen where we had gone. We made sure to explain where they needed to go. I hope they liked it.

Sea Otter Surfer

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While watching the waves come rushing in to the Santa Cruz shore, I saw something floating on the surface just a little way out. It appeared to be seaweed but that wasn’t all that was there. A look through the longer lens confirmed that a sea otter was sitting out there enjoying the ride. The clump of weed was drifting closer in so, when the waves started to break over the top, the otter would dive underneath and pop back up once the turmoil had passed. The current was taking him along the shoreline over time so we lost track of where he ended up but he seemed to be enjoying the ride quite a lot!

Forget the Surfers – Look at the Waves

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Watching the surfers trying to catch the big waves was cool but, even when they didn’t make it, I wasn’t disappointed. The waves themselves were fantastic to watch. The color of the water as the waves built up as they came into the shallows and then became unstable and broke was fantastic. The spray from the breaking wave would fly back up the face of the wave and over the crest. Sometimes you would briefly see into the tube and the wave rolled towards us. Fantastic stuff and so powerful!

Rialto Beach

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If you mention going to the beach, most people will initially visualize a sandy stretch with the sun in the sky and the waves lapping the shore. While that is certainly nice, I also love a rugged beach on a rough weather day. We took a diversion during one of our day trips and headed for Rialto Beach. There was rain in the air and the wind was certainly blowing but this enhanced the atmosphere of the beach. Just offshore, large rocky outcroppings rose from the water. Their tops were almost obscured by low cloud and the waves were crashing up against them.

The shoreline was covered with debris that had washed ashore. Logs were stacked up at the high water mark where the waves had pushed them as far as they could go. The bark was stripped leaving the core wood polished and exposed. The stones that made up the beach were ridged based on how high the tide and the waves would push them. Everything looked dramatic in the damp and windy conditions. The attraction of the place was obviously high because plenty of people were there. Whether walking their dogs along the beach, taking a walk along the water’s edge or just standing up near the logs and staring out to sea, they were there in numbers.

Funneling the Waves

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The headland at Santa Cruz includes a narrow inlet in the cliff face. As the waves come in, this inlet can concentrate the wave and result in some spraying up out of the top when the wave runs out of places to go. The wave action varies a lot so often there is nothing to see from above. However, as the waves grow, they can spray out a bit or, if the wave is really big, fire a plume of spray and debris up into the air and onto the top of the cliff. A little patience and some luck is required to get this to work for you but it is fun to see – particularly if people have got a bit too close during the quiet times and are not expecting the big one!

Waterspouts

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San Francisco Bay is a large body of water and you can get some interesting weather effects that will develop. I was down by the bay when the wind was whipping around. It was causing some little columns of spray to form out in the open water. Rather than a real waterspout, they were more like a dust devil – just water instead of dust! They would form up and then disappear. However, it would not be long before a replacement would form. These are funny looking effects and it would have been nice to be a bit closer to see them in more detail.

Getting Some Air

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There seem to be quite a few posts on the blog of kite surfing. Whenever I come across someone out in the waves, I can’t help myself but spend some time watching them. Driving down the coast from Coronado, we stopped on the beach to eat our breakfast. As we sat on the wall looking across the sand at the waves, the kite surfer headed out a short distance away.

Of course, he never came up as far us us but he was still close enough to get a good view. He managed to get some good air at times, usually when I wasn’t trying to photograph him. The wind off the ocean was strong and steady so he was having a lot of fun with some reasonably sized waves to launch off periodically. I figured an animated GIF might be a good way to show him in motion. See what you think.

Point Reyes Beaches

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It’s not like we have a ton of bad weather here but, with a forecast for a nice weekend, we decided a trip to Point Reyes would be a good plan. An early start combined with a stop for breakfast in Larkspur and we were on our way. Even the drive to Point Reyes is nice so you really feel like you are having a good day out in the prettiest of countryside. This time of year is a popular one because of the wildlife. A previous trip was one during whale migration season. The lighthouse is a good spot for watching the whales but the parking lot is not up to the task. At times like this, they close off the road and run a bus shuttle from Drake’s Bay.

This was not whale time. However, the shuttle was in operation again. This time it was because the elephant seals were on the beaches and lots of people were coming to see them. We were less bothered about going to the normal places and, instead, wanted to enjoy the shoreline. On previous trips to the lighthouse, I have looked down on the beaches to the north and thought how great they look. Not only are the picturesque but the ocean swell results in some great waves running ashore. This time it was time to see them up close.

The beaches were surprisingly quiet. There were quite a few people there but a combination of the large expanse of beach and the desire of many people to not stray too far from the parking lot meant that a short stroll got you a stretch of beach to yourself. Indeed as we walked up we were creating the first footprints in some areas. (When we left, the trails of prints had multiplied!)

Walking along the water’s edge is the easiest thing to do since the sand is firmest where it is wettest. Of course, that does require paying attention to the larger waves which occasionally run a lot further up the sand than you expect. As long as you don’t mind a little embarrassment, a quick sprint out of the way usually takes care of things!

We found a particularly quiet ridge just above the water line and sat down for a while. The waves were very soothing despite their strength and sitting on the sand, under the sun as the surf rolled in was as close to perfect as you could wish for. I have no idea how long we stayed there. It was quite a long time but I could have stayed forever. We did have to go eventually of course but it was a wonderful way to spend a day. I did shoot a little video of some of the waves just to remind myself. Here is a little of the wave action if you want to have your own beachside moment.

Mussels

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The tide was obviously low when we were at Pescadaro State Beach. The exposed rocks were showing all sorts of signs of what might live under the water. There were large outcrops of mussels attached to the rocks. They were sealed up tight waiting for the tide to come back in when they could open up again to feed.

Pescadaro State Beach

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Nancy and I included a trip to Pescadaro State Beach as part of our weekend in Half Moon Bay. There are a number of lovely looking beaches on this stretch of the coast but the guide books suggested this was a good one so we headed there. It is a lovely location with a lot of rocky outcrops upon which the waves crash. We strolled along the shore and enjoyed the waves thundering into the rocks, sometimes sending plumes of spray way up into the air. I love waves and could watch them for hours.