The Wedge found another way to kill you. Photo: Yucca Fins // YouTube
The Wedge is dangerous enough as it is. A massive, unpredictable slab detonating right on shore, it can, and will, annihilate you if you’re not careful. However, the effects of Hurricane Genevieve appear to be making the notorious Southern California break even more deadly.
Beach erosion has been an ongoing issue in Newport Beach, but the recent hurricane swell has made the issue even more readily apparent. “Over the last couple years, it has become increasingly dangerous because of the erosion,” explains Jeremy Wiegman of Yucca Fins in a recently released video, “You start getting exposed to these metal fixtures that unfortunately you can wash up and hit. And this is still only the first day of this swell.”
Oahu tube-hound Koa Smith made a similar observation when he visited Newport to greet the swell. “It’s crazy,” he exclaimed. “Now there’s like no sand on the beach. Usually the beach is all the way out by those signs and there’s new stuff falling every second.” Soon after, he nearly tripped over an exposed telephone wire that used to connect a defunct lifeguard tower to its dispatcher.
Though it is concerning from a safety perspective, the erosion also has the interesting side effect of uncovering the Wedge’s history. “The funny thing that a lot of people don’t know is that there used to be a pier at the Wedge,” continued Weigman. “The pier was originally there to help create the second groin off the jetty. Luckily, the sand had covered it up for so many years that it was never an issue. Now we’re dealing with exposed rusty metal fixtures.”
