The West Coast is saying goodbye to perhaps its best southern hemi swell of the season right now. Most summers, that means the Wedge just went off and possibly provided the best highlight reels of the entire event — mostly filled with bone-breaking wipeouts.
This week, however, that wasn’t so much the case. Yes, the lineup filled up and plenty of people still showed up on the beach for a show. But the swell itself didn’t really line up in a way that turns the Newport Beach rebound wave into the pissed off, doubling-up monster we all kind of want to see. There were certainly waves, just less size and maybe not the level of carnage we’ve come to expect when a purple blob shows up on our Pacific Ocean forecasts.
Nonetheless, this drone edit of the swell’s peak at the Wedge is actually quite revealing. You can see the swell rebounding off the west side of the jetty, pushing back into incoming waves and giving her that classic “oomph.” And you can see the same critical takeoffs. And the same people pulling into a barrel and never making it out. The lucky last second kick outs. All of it. But somehow, seeing it all from above makes this place look half…normal.
Find more from SoCal videographer Ho Stevie!
