What the swell is going on`

I heard there are 30 ft swells up in Mendocino!  I know some breaks by linda mar are massive right now.  Of course not the ones on the beach, the ones on the reefs just off shore.  Mooch, should make for some great pics.
jason

december! 

J - when does Mavericks break? Would love to see it up close. When I lived at HMB, my surfer buddy told me there's a place where you can actually park a yak and watch the the waves break up close....

Maybe Tim / Mr Magoo can chime in...

december! 

WORD!

And Mooch, I'm sure you could check Mavs on your yak but if a big set came through.. ouch. With a lot of big wave spots, they break in deep water so you can watch really close by. Mavs is one of those spots. But I've heard a few horror stories of massive sets showing up outta no where and swamping areas that looked safe before. Get your paddling skillz on Mooch . Just to let you know. Watching from shore is pretty fun.

Z

Z - during the Mav surf comp last year, I remember seeing a photo of a flotilla of kayaks hanging out near mavricks - don't exactly know how far or how close they were from the actual break - but it seems pretty interesting just to be out there and seeing the swells up closer. I'd really like to get a better view from the water - too much spectators on the shore 

Mooch,  When I sailed my boat form Berkeley to Monterey we had to make a big semi-circle around Mavericks as we came down the coast.  There was white water straight ahead and we knew what it was so we took it wide.  If you are off the reef you should be out of the zone of the breaking waves but be careful keep your distance plus a safety margin and follow all precautions.  There is usually also a fleet of other boats out there watching so if you are in the same area as them you should be OK for the most part.

As long as it's not too outrageous of a day I guess it could be cool. Maybe all the times I've been suprized when it's huge that has me a little shell shocked . Have taken some massive 20 foot+ sets on the head in my day and they weren't too fun. I think Sackyak's Ideas are good. And be prepared for the worst and you'll come out the best. 

Z

yeah, I'll defintely be "on my toes". Just as long as there are other boats out there it should be cool. I'm sure I can get the local boyz =Joe/Skyboy and Jason to go out there with me  Can't wait!!!

yeah, I'll defintely be "on my toes". Just as long as there are other boats out there it should be cool. I'm sure I can get the local boyz =Joe/Skyboy and Jason to go out there with me  Can't wait!!!

Local knowledge is the best. You guys 'll be my heros.
Don't forget the camera!

Z

by new years the water should be calm and cler as usual, just in time for rockfishing to end!

wahhhhh!

mooch, I think any swell above about 12 feet.  period matters, 10ft @ 20 seconds would break whereas 14ft @ 10 seconds might not.

I have never surfed mavs and never will tho, so I'm not the expert. I have surfed ross cove and been blasted out of there once when the swell came up and I could see mav's starting to break from there.

mavs breaks in true form probably only a half dozen times per year on average, every year is different.

on those big mav's contests, boats and other things sit out in the channel there, so I think it's quite possible on one of those non-stormy days with a big swell.