The Wedge is synonymous with summer in Southern California. It’s this freakish accident of a wave that doesn’t really look like a wave, but people try to ride it anyway. And when a southern hemi swell points toward Orange County the weird little nook sitting next to Newport Beach’s harbor fires up like Frankenstein’s monster waking up for the first time. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve watched people get barreled here, escape death, or fly off the lip in a monstrous closeout, every session is as fascinating as the last.
In some ways, standing on the beach here is like sitting against the fence at a NASCAR race. Deep down you know you’re going to witness somebody get destroyed. You can feel the rumbles in the ground. And when it all comes crashing your heart skips a beat (or two).
So winter is officially gone and we’ve settled into spring in the northern hemisphere. That means the Wedge will soon frequent our news feeds with wipeout reels and amazing, triumphant edits. I stumbled upon this new minute of Wedge footage and all these things hit me immediately. Because it’s almost that time of year again. Get ready.
