You were beautiful. Photo: Scott Sporleder
An immediate retrospective — because Hurricane Marie was not only the swell of summer, but arguably the best swell for Southern California in decades. The sort you’ll tell your kids and grandchildren about.
It all began a week ago, over the weekend, when Hurricane Marie (then churning off the coast of Mexico) strengthened from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in a mere 24 hours.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Hurricane Marie was one bad mamma jamma. Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
I mean, this was already an event of historic proportions, even before reaching Southern California’s coastline:
“Marie is the first ‘cane to be labeled a Category 5 in four-plus years — the strongest in the area since Hurricane Celia in 2010 — but the fifth major hurricane to form in the basin this year.”
But then it hit. And when it did, it hit hard. I was in landlocked Sun Valley fishing when the reports started coming in on Monday and Tuesday.
The crowds were building with the swell. Photo: Benjamin Ginsberg
By Wednesday, as I anxiously waited for my plane out of Hailey, Idaho, I was getting texts left and right about how I wouldn’t believe my eyes when I got back. I didn’t. Simply put — I didn’t.
I landed around noon and head into the office to answer a couple emails and finish a handful of edits. Then The Inertia Social Media Editor Reid Levin and I loaded up the car to drive north towards Malibu/Ventura. Even at Topanga (effectively the beginning of North Los Angeles breaks) we had a good feeling that we were in for a true life-changer.
We were. Dangling out of my window as I steered the coastline up the PCH, line upon line marked the breaks. I pulled up to Big Dume and we grabbed our boards and ran towards the steps down to the point. Before we even reached the pathway from the road, Managing Editor Alex Haro walked towards us with a broken board and Cheshire Cat smile. As 10 to 12 foot sets rolled through, Alex got the full brunt of the lip. But he was still all smiles.
Hours after we returned to his house, Alex was still vibing out from the day.
Needless to say, big Wednesday went off.
Ask Jamie O’Brien…
…or Laird Hamilton…
…and Allen Sarlo.
And it was only the beginning. Thursday was a barrel-fest up and down the coast. Santa Barbara was not lacking, for one…
…(we’re talking 20-second barrels)…
…and neither was Newport.
Even the birds flocked to the breaks. Photo: Ricky Lesser
Nope, Newport was definitely not lacking.
Kolohe Andino knows. And Kolohe Andino goes. Photo: Derek Bahn
As time would tell, Hurricane Marie really was something else. Last Friday, Rob Machado reflected on his own experience, and shared sentiments we might all find relatable:
It’ll be good to lay low and just chill over the weekend. It’s rare to say, but I’ve been surfing way too much. It feels good to be burnt out. It was weird. I was surfing last night, and we were laughing because it felt like we had been on a surf trip for the last five days. You’re waking up at four in the morning every day and surfing ’til dark and you’re going home and see your wife for ten minutes, and you’re back up at four the next morning. This was definitely a swell to remember.
Anyway, goodbye, Marie. And thanks again. There will be no forgetting you.
To see more from Hurricane Marie, don’t forget about your all’s work. The reader-submitted photos did the swell good — really good! And see both Newport and Malibu to Campus Point from above.
