Last week’s Southern Hemisphere swell lit up swaths of the Pacific basin, and the mutant tubes at the Wedge were no exception. Surf photographer Sean Evans called it the best early season south swell since 2015 and jetted up from San Diego to capture the action.
“Thursday was the biggest day, but I just wanted to surf my local zone to enjoy the first south swell,” said Evans. “Typically, the Wedge gets tons of sand built up throughout the winter, so the first day of the season isn’t always the best.”
“But I woke up Thursday, and right when I pulled up the camera at the Wedge, I saw the best wave I’ve seen in a long time,” he added. “I laughed and knew I blew it not going up there. A few of my fellow photographer buddies said it was the roughest swim and gnarliest rip current they’ve swam in, with only a few good waves the entire day. That made me feel better.”
Even if made waves were far and few between, Evans decided to pull the trigger on Friday, March 13. When he arrived, it looked less than ideal. The ocean was messy. But as the tide dropped, conditions cleaned up, and the waves started to pump.
“I sat on the beach for a bit and noticed the first section was throwing super wide, and Cylinders (the peak just north of the Wedge) was doing the same without doubling up and blocking each other,” said Evans. “Typically, in the water you have to choose one wave or the other, but this day was a bit more manageable to photograph both (at the same time).”
“The two best waves ridden were Wedge local Sage Burke scoring two clean ones,” he added. “But most waves went unridden. The rip current was forcing me to swim up and around more than I could count — probably the fastest I’ve been dragged out anywhere besides Puerto Escondido.”
Evans noted that the perk of early season swells is that there’s no black ball in place, which prohibits hard boards from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May through October.
“We could surf all day without bodysurfers taking over,” Evans said.
