Just over a week post hurricane swell, surfers continue to recall fond memories of big surf
By Andrea Swayne
Now that the huge Hurricane Marie swell that brought frothing surfers out in droves has died down, it seems a secondary one persists—a swell of videos and photos still flooding social media as those who enjoyed the unusually big surf relive and share fond memories of Marie.
More than a week since the Pacific delivered awesome energy from the storm, tales from the new “Big Wednesday” continue to circulate throughout the surfing world. We thought we’d take one more look at some of the fun times local surfers had courtesy of Marie and invite readers to submit photos to become a part of an online slideshow from the swell.
One such surfer, Mike Kinney of San Juan Capistrano, paddled out at Killer Dana in Dana Point behind the Ocean Institute on Wednesday, Aug. 27 to get his fill of the big surf. His session was cut short when the powerful waves snapped his board. As he returned to the beach, with half of his surfboard in tow and a huge smile on his face, he was greeted by shouts and applause from the dozens of people gathered atop the jetty to watch the swell.
That same day, Capistrano Beach-based professional longboarder and artist Joe Aaron traveled to Newport Beach to test his mettle at the infamous Wedge. Aaron’s epic Marie memory came when he dropped in on and slayed a beast, the biggest wave of the day’s cleanup set. His ride became the centerpiece of many television news reports and a video he is featuring on his website, joemotion.com.
Aaron paddled out without a leash, atop a 9’5” single-fin longboard he shaped himself, excited at the chance to ride a wave in some of the biggest surf he’d ever attempted.
“There was so much adrenaline when I saw it coming. I thought I’d better go because hesitating would mean going over the falls,” Aaron said. “The drop felt endless. At first my board was almost hydroplaning, barely even touching the water. I always wanted to surf a wave like that but thought I’d have to go to the North Shore to do it. It was the biggest I’ve ever ridden. It was the 30-footer that everyone was talking about. The most exciting part was that it was right here in my back yard. I had my Big Wednesday.”
Check out the video below, captured by Randy Roberts, at Doheny Beach.
Discussion about this post