We all know what we’re looking for when we queue up footage from the Wedge. Carnage is a word we tend to use plenty. Broken boards are sure to appear somewhere, right? If we’re catching live audio from the beach then sprinkle in a few ooohs, ahhhhhs, and whatever sound most effectively communicates that of a physical cringe. And this is precisely the time of year we start gearing up for that. As soon as some south pulses through the Pacific Ocean, it’s the first place on the West Coast we expect to churn out a viral clip or two.
But just like any other wave on the planet, Wedge doesn’t just have an on/off switch that goes from flat to all-time at the first hint of swell. This past weekend was the first “anticipated” swell of the season and there were certainly parts of the coast that saw their day. But the anticipation for solid Wedge is real, which got videographer Brent Weldon out of bed and on the beach by 5 am. What he brought us wasn’t your typical wipeout-filled edit where the crew is in midseason form. Instead, we get to see the Newport Beach nook go through different moods as the swell builds. From bodyboarders dropping in and getting barreled to skimmers chasing barrels themselves, and the occasional surfer backdooring a peak off the trademark sidewash.
If you’re like Brad Domke, you just bring more than one piece of equipment and take swings with whatever fits your fancy.
