Wild West: Biggest Swell in Decades Slams California

Biggest is not always best. And in the case of last week’s Wild West swell - the biggest in decades to hit California - truth is, it was only actually good at a handful of spots during short windows of tide and wind, and/or at tucked-in nook-and-cranny novelty waves. (It also wreaked 17 different kinds of havoc across the state, washing over roadways, breaking piers and into harbors.) Yeah, it was a historic surf event which’ll be talked about in parking lots and lineups and coffee shops for years, and it rearranged the relationship with where we surf, but it (mostly) ended up being more spectacle than participatory. And above we present the spectacle, including a mad return to Todos Santos. With more on the way, especially Friday and Saturday across Southern California.
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MusicBed - MB017G4BC0NM53Q

[@bradleyjanes2949]

I'm 65 yo and it's the biggest I can recall,great video,thank you👊

[@macscotsman51]

Yes, 1969 is the benchmark used for the last 50 years. For us in So Cal that were there, we will always remember waves breaking over both Newport Harbor jetties. Dana Point closing out across the entire bay, and a reef breaking further out than the end of the San Clemente pier. Fun times.

[@outdoorfreedom9778]

I had to laugh when they said they had their big boards of 9 feet for this. In 64 my favorite board was 9 5 and I ended up with a 10 when I gave it up in 66.

[@erichughes284]

DAM SERIOUSLY?TOO big for me

[@webinarprofessor]

What a great posting! I grew up spending my summers in Balboa. Learned to surf at Zuma & Surf City. Graduated to Surfrider and Killer Dana. Surfed a 10'2" GUN, red-fin surfboard - shaped by Mike Hynson. Also bought a Phil Edwards shaped board from Hobie Alter. It was my favorite board ever. I was in Newport Jetties on my parents 46' cruiser, with the waves breaking over each jetty. The Wedge was beyond description. Another day my buddies and I drove oun chevy surf wagon down (lol) down to Dana Point, when the huge waves were breaking all the way to San Onofre. We jumped off the pier and tried to paddle out (kneeling on our boards in those days) - but had no chance. I'm 76 yo now - and have just a few people within my family and friends....that I can recall these days with. I wish "bitchin times" to all you old guys & gals with smiles on your faces - (from thinking back to your own gremmie memories)!! Rich Muller ps. don't even get my started on the insanities of "Bal Week" - when Marine Ave often had to close - and there were fire pits covering Balboa beach!!

[@olsjohnny5]

Grew up in San Clemente, surf the pier all the time. Hard for me to imagine it breaking out past the pier. Sounds unreal epic! Although the sand has definitely changed, especially in the last several years.

[@williamminyard1952]

Only born in 69.... I dont wish for surf and tide like in 69 but it would of been something to see for sure if I happened to be there.

[@karenallhoff5086]

I love Surfline! I love being a Californian. Thank you for such a beautiful piece. 🔥💕🤙🏼

[@meyburgh]

Todos looking like huge Mavericks.. That big take-off from Greg Long over that warping face must have been done in faith.

[@RickarooCarew]

I was living in Mission Beach, San Diego in 69.. hanging out up on Black's Beach in the Torrey Pines park up on the cliffs watching the waves... digging the storm.. those waves didn't come close to what we are seeing the past week or so.. it is, possibly.. because of polar ice sinking... it can get much.. much bigger.. hope everyone has their boards ready

[@RickarooCarew]

the el niño current jumps the equator during solar maximum in the southern hemisphere.. like now... bringing warmer water to the cooler north... bringing large and persistent storms above the warmer water... and.. because we're on a smallish sphere going round and round .. so does the water.. and air... the butterfly effect... times a bazillion

[@RickarooCarew]

brought to you by our friends and fellow travelers on our little Planet.. Big Oil.. global warming is not a joke

[@RickarooCarew]

✌️Peace ✌️

[@MineGoldDefi]

83 was epic as well

[@RickarooCarew]

we were pretty impressed with waves breaking above the rocks in the jetty.. that's not 40 feet y'all from the beach over here in Arizona g'day

[@bigredfred33]

I’ve lived and surfed in Hawaii for 40+ years (too old to surf now) and live near Rincon Point now. I saw the huge waves there recently and I also saw all the debris in the water and on the beach, logs, limbs etc from the storms. That’s not something I would like to be tumbling in the whitewater with, lol.

[@stormgetts]

I saw the same thing at Refugio.. branches, and even a truck tire

[@sarahjane4908]

Not to mention bacteria levels…

[@toneroable]

Jelly fish too ?? Euuuuuu......!

[@johnliggett9271]

you forgot about rattlesnakes

[@IrishNattyby25]

@@johnliggett9271 No rattlesnakes in Hawaii, lol.

[@marcbourget8891]

Anyone recall the article in Surfer in the late 60's titled "The Day the Islands Came to Newport"? A couple of years later, the City of Huntington was allowing riders to run out the pier and jump onto the top of the swell (just a few feet below the bottom of the pier)

[@andrew7202]

Greg long is animal and to be able to still be doing it at his age mad respect to him and the big wave boys

[@noangel3652]

Thank you Jeff Specolli I just looked at that wave and said hey dud let’s party😆

[@rdeezer9845]

Baja Waimea

[@cornwallparanormalresearch2378]

Awesome watch thanks for sharing..

[@dennymayeda2176]

Darn, I haven't seen Jojo since he was a teenager, he's the spitting image of his Dad!

[@dunningkruger3774]

"Oh God, thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small" Breton Fisherman's Prayer, posted in Surfer Mag in the early 70's with a huge wave behind it. Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover presented a plaque with this prayer on it to President John F. Kennedy and it is in the JFK Library and Museum in Boston Ma.

[@andres-vx1mm]

epic swell and so fun to see everyone frothing

[@MudmanDH]

Mother nature is so powerful. Amazing waves all over West Coast making thousands very happy.

[@victorjason2558]

that was great! I used to surf C Street and The Peer. I'd be scared of the size of the waves in this vid.

[@JohnSmith-js3po]

I surfed todos at 20’ and perfect. I think the big drop is great and scary but I prefer a waves with shape . I just go to Porto Escondido now it must be huge now . I still remember my best wave of my life. Jumped off the pier in Oceanside California because the paddle out was horrendous 15 to 20 foot riding a 6’8 sunset swallow tail single fin . Me and my partner just looked at each other a huge set was looking right at us everyone was tired from paddling out, we were scratching hard I turned around took a steep drop into to a 15 foot barrel I must’ve been in there for 10 seconds came out made the inside section all the way to the life Gaurd tower . I just sat on the bench smiling watching this massive swell

[@mozdickson]

Never start a comment with I.

[@JohnSmith-js3po]

@@mozdickson why

[@mozdickson]

@@JohnSmith-js3po I said so! 😅

[@JohnSmith-js3po]

must have went to UCLA 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂because you said so that’s what a professor would say from that awful institution

[@millermark445]

I've never been on a surfboard. But I'm a long-time body-surfer who remembers the swells off Santa Monica in late August of 1973. The waves were nothing like what you see here - I wouldn't have been out there if they had been - but they were much better than anything I'd seen on the Maryland and Jersey shores, and I couldn't get off the beach. They were perfect for body-surfing, not monstrously big, but powerful, shaped just right and breaking far enough from shore where you wouldn't break your neck in a wipe-out. I was disappointed when I returned to California in 1975 (at Zuma Beach), expecting a similar experience I had enjoyed two years earlier. But it was not to be. The waves were anemic, the surf relatively placid. Nature moves on its own time, not ours.

[@journeyman6752]

Watching from Australia.

[@FredVanAllenRealtor]

Friday the San Pedro SoCal buoy hit 35 feet, its highest on record.

[@kimberlykim1265]

I am in awe of these people. It just looks terrifying to me!

[@Anne.411]

Them guys are crazy

[@oliguayasebesteves166]

I saw Felipe Toledo ripping there.

[@erichughes284]

That looks too dangerous to me.Too much debris and I don't know what rocks might be lurking. BUT I admire any guys or gals who have the juevos to do it

[@jsurfslammer]

Cool, no tow in footage 😎

[@arcadiotorres4725]

California is beautiful

[@sammymunchkin1462]

Peace ya'll

[@haveaday1812]

Todos Santos is like the most terrifying and yet trash wave in Mexico lol.

[@deadeyemattthejedipirate]

Yeah Mamma is mad. We on the cliff and ain't got no shoes on. Chum

[@deadeyemattthejedipirate]

I'm in Pacifica and it was breaking up to a mile offshore. Gnar

[@OCP74]

Anyone head out to Cortez Bank?

[@MrBornfisher]

So the boat ride back was exciting? What happened?

[@Kawika_808]

Hats off to cold water surfers.

[@raiospartaonick]

This is a normal day in Nazaré 😂

[@markbours6173]

It doesn't matter how big it is it's all closed out

[@ostreds]

Where's Bhodi?

[@wthomas5697]

So you can just hop on a boat and surf down there without having to deal with border crossing?

[@seancallahan1312]

Crossing the border and grabbing a boat there is easier, unless you want to stay a couple weeks. You could get a couple swells at Todos if you time it right, then fill in the days with San Miguel, Salsipuedes, 3M's, etc. in between huge days. Fookin' Salsipuedes might've been the call anyway. Guys posted it unnamed. If you know what you're looking for, it's on Instagram and probably youtube somewhere. Looked like that day when Billy Kemper broke his back in Morocco!

[@mydogatemyhomework3768]

@@seancallahan1312 do you ever go surf trailer parks? I haven't been there since the 90s

[@henrycole8705]

They included film from other places in this video. why are people so dishonest?

[@rd2dab]

Cali kooks

[@arieskauhi]

Yessah boiz get dat...

[@AxeOfViolence]

I love seeing rich peoples' stuff get destroyed.

[@negativemiracle]

"Swells like this rearrange our relationship with where we surf. We think we know the takeoff zone at our local spot, and then all of a sudden it's 100 yards out and to the left. We think waves never break inside that cove or jetty or harbor or river, and then all of a sudden, they do." I'm not crying, you're crying. Poetry.

[@graveltraveler6631]

This particular swell was legendary for sure, but nothing compares to the destruction of the El Nino storms of 1982-83.

[@Keleneki]

Woohoo!!! That is awesome! I saw massive waves twice when I went to Waimea Bay to watch the first two Eddie Aikau surf contests back in the day. I also saw epic waves at Sandy Beach and Makapuu before in the 1980s where it was breaking way outside and massive. I was so happy to see a picture of the huge waves in one video of Sandy Beach and there is a video at Makapuu not long ago where it got epic. I first learned it could get that big when my college professor in Oceanography at the University of Hawaii told us in class about how Makapuu could get epic on extremely rare conditions. He used to go bodysurfing after class at Makapuu and I would see him gliding along the waves in the water when I was swimming back out from the waves I caught. I used to go bodysurfing almost every day for years when I was younger but now I am an old man living on the Mainland. :)

[@MrSemperfidelis66]

Amazing Todos and swell… props to Greg Longs wave and all that paddled out there. Yah JoJo

[@1MNUTZ]

"Its the 50 year storm everything moves in cycles so twice the century the ocean lets us know just how small we really are"

[@ralphiewigs2208]

The Greg Long drop was pure artistry.

[@conorlauren]

I live in Mendocino. The waves were large but so messy and undefined that it didn’t look majestic. The waves did not look as big as they were because that ocean was just so rough. I’ve seen waves LOOK much bigger here. They just actually weren’t. PS: they ended up damaging the Pt. Cabrillo lighthouse in Caspar. That thing is on a cliff 50’ above sea level.

[@therealbeans]

All of Los Angeles came to our little town when they missed the best barrels of all time in LA! They didn't even know where to go in their own town!

[@civilsocietyprivateinteres1711]

Classic valley kooks

[@garyjohnson4575]

Now you can ride it in all the way to the parking lot!

[@petersterling5334]

Lot of Respect for Greg Long. He's already died once but he is Such a Warrior and Great Surfer he wants to Always Take off on the Biggest Wave! Mahalo Greg for your Spirit

[@hommuside]

Pft. He’s heart stopped for a while, sure it was serious, but he didn’t die.

[@highboostingm3]

@@hommuside Wow guy.🤦‍♂️

[@laurenjager297]

Hi Kevin!! I miss your folks.. hug your Mama for me.🌴🌊 Thanks for the epic surf reports. You know if the Goat rerouted his travel path for the year, for this, it's gotta be epic, as well.

[@icysurfer1]

Among many great things, and places I've been, Surfing for over 25 years (and for 1 month a year now) is the best, most pivotal decision I ever made. Started at 29 yrs old, in cold water. Cheers.

[@usernotfound904]

Isnt the pacific cold no matter the time of year?

[@davidboudreau4054]

Back in the late 1970's I remember going with a few friends down to the Seal Beach Pier. We were in High School and I rode my bike down there from my parents house near Recreation Park golf course and Wilson High. I would cut through the marina to shorten bike ride there, but it was a pretty long ride none-the-less. The waves were the same height as the pier. I had my Boogie Board and I managed to drop in on a few of them. The water was really nasty from all the sea debris being churned up. But it was an awesome day in the waves and I will never forget it.

[@lukerodriguez7908]

Tinha um meio metrão servido na série!

[@mztokyo7630]

@davidboudreau Love that part of Long Beach near Big Rec and Little Rec golf courses. I played a lot of twilight rounds back then. And of course Seal Beach is great. That must have been a heck of a ride.

[@davidboudreau4054]

@@mztokyo7630 I played a few rounds at both big and little rec golf course. I remember one hole on little rec where it seemed like you teed off from a cliff above the green. Or was the big rec? no clue now, that was so long ago...

[@mztokyo7630]

@@davidboudreau4054 Thanks for the reply. Alas, even I am forgetting the correct hole as well. I hit a lot of balls into that lagoon though! Water holes were my achilles heel! Enjoying the memories.

[@probablypondering1657]

Resident of San Diego here. The swells at Blacks beach these past few days have been absolutely gargantuan

[@ekitching]

Amazing. Those people are really brave. I used to boogie board when I was a kid. There were huge waves in 1982-83, does anyone remember this? That was the year a lot of piers were damaged. I was there the day the west end of the Santa Monica pier was severely damaged. There were pieces of wood and debris all over the beach. It was something I will never forget.

[@dennispatrick4999]

It was huge in Malibu too.

[@stevehangen1123]

We had huge waves in san diego at that time. My friends and I went surfing during one storm where the sets were 12 -14 feet. Brutal

[@kimberlyhollingsworth]

Yes I was living in Santa Monica then, I remember when it took the second half of pier off! I remember 12 foot waves at Santa Monica beach…

[@dman030]

I seem to remember Huntington that summer got pretty big, didn't last too long though, few days. We made it down to bodysurf the wedge too.

[@stevemcconnell5864]

I remember has well seal 🦭 beach pier torn up to late 70s to mid 80s epic time I'm 60 now great memories

[@condor7782]

Who charged Fish 🐟 Taco 🌮 Island? I got my @ the 7:15 mark 🤙

[@AK-ms5zk]

There is something disconcerting about enjoying these swells?

[@delavan9141]

So they got on a boat at 2:30 am from San Diego and reached Todos Santos, which is 1000 miles away, by sunrise?

[@godisbollocks]

Where's all the Mavericks footage?

[@tommyhofer1176]

so january 18th 2018 just wasn't that big of a swell to you guys at surfline?

[@michaelj8793]

Wow Thanks for documenting one of the biggest swells of our lifetime Really appreciate what you do Thanks again guys👍🤙

[@theresaheyer537]

OH WOOOOW very adventurous people,lovers of the ocean...great view thank you all!

[@mozdickson]

Thanks from NZ for your comprehensive reportage. Stoked for Long.

[@genevagarciafilm]

I'm from Ensenada which faces Isla de Todos Santos. And I'd heard about how insane the waves can get on the island. It's so cool to have seen it in this video even if I've never seen it in real life.

[@robnorthrup1]

Every swell is different, and in So Cal the angle is the key. The Channel & Offshore islands make a huge difference in where these swells will hit. I would say this wasn’t the biggest we’ve seen in San Diego, but up north it looks like the swell snuck through the shadow of the islands better. Winds were also a factor - never got right in a lot of spots, but The Cove & Blacks were pretty good! I did my thing at Blacks & The Cove & The Cliffs & Mexico (Todos & other unnamed spots) in the 80’s, 90’s I'm like that grumpy old man now - mid-60’s & too beaten up to do this any longer. I’d like to say "…it was definitely bigger in my day, sonny-boy!...” Well, maybe it was & maybe it wasn’t… We didn’t have digital cameras back then, or digital video. Only some grainy old pictures… And the memories of lifting 20’ to 30’ off the ocean’s surface, and taking that massive drop! So here’s to today’s young-turk chargers. Thanks for allowing us to re-live the moments through your exploits! It was definitely bigger in years past! And the fish are always bigger at the bar! Same thing you’ll say to the new guard in 30 years!

[@kc72186]

64 year old Westcoaster here and have seen waves breaking on top of HB pier in the 70s. Never seen Todos that big before 🍻

[@joeybenoit6269]

Almost been surfing for 60 years grew up in Pacifica Cal! I rode 55 ft North Bird Rock in1975! The monster from New Zealand! I ride a Mike Eaton bonzer! God bless all my surfing Brothers!

[@HoStevie]

*January 2023 will go down in history as the month where so-cal locals finally had a reason to dust the cobwebs off their guns 💣*

[@jonlimes6087]

And you thought Hawaii and Nazare Spain is the only place with good ol' big waves to ride on. Wait till California hurricane hit in Pacific coast

[@ianwalton284]

I have to remember to log out before I watch surf video, otherwise my recommendations gets filled with a bunch of kooky squidly maggoty wannabe sellout videos.

[@seancallahan1312]

As with swell events, different spots will eclipse one another, even on different times of the day. This looks on par with Jan '83 with intensity, if not with longevity. I'm not old enough to comment in person on 1969, though the Renny Yater Rincon photos from '69 look like Rincon was better then. I wonder about Todos in '83? Honorable mention Nov. 76, and was it 93 or 94? in summer California was so huge some of the Mavericks crew almost drowned at Fuller's. I heard Don Curry was rock solid, though. I stayed at the Lane where only me and Tom Powers were out for a good while. Summertime Steamer Lane with only 2 guys out. Tom Powers was heavy. He and Big Bird (Dave Schmidt) were the first 2 guys to surf Mavericks when Jeff decided to show someone else. I was glad someone more serious than me was out to surf with that day at the Lane.

[@mozdickson]

Great historical in-filling bro.

[@Swayzeo]

Seal Beach was 10 times Bigger than this in '83 😎

[@seancallahan1312]

@@Swayzeo Did it get rideable, or was it just nuking out in the clouds? Dudes had it killer the other day, I was looking at multiple vids. I wish I would've got to surf that before I got hurt. Looks soooo fun. Powerful, too. (I was a strictly up-north guy. So I scored incredibly, but missed out on a lot, too. We didn't allow cameras. Looking back, all that was dumb.)

[@seancallahan1312]

@@mozdickson It's all I have left. Old injuries came back worse than ever. Can't surf anymore and even fall in the house sometimes. Sadly, 7 or 8 grand would pay for the surgeries (here in Mexico they're cheap) but I'm barely able to make rent, eat and keep the cats fed. My lifetime of surfing ended by lack of 8 thousand bucks. Plan better than I did, bro.

[@Swayzeo]

@@seancallahan1312 The '82-83 season had many Giant days. Many good and choppy days. The day Island Ester got destroyed I personally witnessed. Many rogue waves pelted the Island, but one giant wave completely destroyed the Island. Boulders were getting knocked out of the jetties. Different pier sections were getting knocked out on numerous days. Many days ridable, some not. I soloed out there many times that season, among many others, I don't mind choppy waves. Hope you heel soon 🙏

[@WCANO626]

Fantastic. I can’t wait for the next episode of the 2023 Cali winter

[@TylerMCollins]

Great job team 🙌 Epic coverage and beautiful production. Shoutout the homies Marcus, Kevin, Marc, Jake 🤙

[@Kevinsurfmore]

Thank you Tyler!

[@elizabethdeming3023]

b iggest since THE MONSTER FROM New Zealand!1975 North Bird H Pock Lopez dropped in on Buth Van Artsdale got punched but Gerry your God! Namasta Brothers see you in Palm Deserts New Wave Palace/ BONZERS!!!!

[@matiasgibbs251]

Greg Long is a living legend

[@lukerodriguez7908]

Tinha um meio metrão servido na série!

[@yetigonecrazy]

his ride at 4:40 was so insane

[@itcantbetruebutis7778]

Looks are deceiving from the couch when it comes to waves. These are 20' -25' faces some of em. The surfers know what they are dealing with and u can tell better on shore. But from here where I am and most are what looks like 1 thing is another completely. I have bodyboarded most of my life and surfed as well from southern Cal to up and down the East Coast. And the waves out west with even decent swell are another animal.. it's size is relative until they hit 10' and double overhead. It's then that the whole dynamic changes.. but make no mistake an 6' - 8' wave can cause injuries easily. The best read the ocean and the waves like a favorite book and notice things about tides, currents, swell direction, and rips like it's their job... cuz all those factors and more create conditions that can be life threatening at the very least...

[@beldendemecilio8219]

Yesterday on Oahu, Da Eddie would go was ON. I is from Hawaii 😎 the island of Oahu and size of The Waves was 30-35 ft. 🌊🏄👣🤙

[@chir0pter]

So no Cortes Bank?

[@HomesForSaleEnsenada]

I live in Baja California, Mexico and it's just the same thing everyone else is reporting in Southern California

[@5635randy]

Back 80s we had Todos to ourselves no jet skis just guns bought from huntington garage sales and guts we would come home amped McDonnell Douglas had a surf club that did weekly trips

[@KevinSmith-mw1lg]

The surfers should really be thanking chemtrails, that's what amplified these storms. Along with other geo engineering practices such as harp. I live in sb and saw the skies seeded even out past San Miguel.

[@Krizbonz]

Our climate is going insane.. people are loosing their lives.. and meanwhile the surfing community is stoookkkeeddd…

[@James-so6yo]

Man, those swells are nothing compared to the ones we get off South Africa. But, much respect. Maybe you can get better someday.

[@Hojiii]

69' and 82'

[@johnfaris5376]

I can’t believe guys paddle out in this surf. 40 feet and 56 degree water? I’m happy to watch

[@OkalaborationO]

Is jojo roper joe roper’s kid?

[@Kevinsurfmore]

Yes! Great young man he is!

[@jamesfestini]

I wish I could set Alexa to tell me when to got out to the shore and watch the waves when they hit 10+

[@randydewees7338]

Any report about Salt Creek (just south of South Laguna)? Did it break in this swell? In the early seventies I remember a couple days with a big well ordered winter west swell it broke about 1.5 miles off the point in a pretty good left. Hard to get past the shore break and there were only a few of us out there (scared), it was epic.

[@afveteran]

Hey Randy ! Good for you "old surf brother! Now your talking! About the fun times!

[@toddbefield1100]

North end salt creek very solid...bigger than the epic 2/24/08 swell (I was stoked to make surfline on that one...pic #21 under "west coast goes off again") but a little too much straight west in this one with more close outs on the inside.

[@choco1bread]

Book: Simply Beautiful NFT Abstract Art by Artist Choco1bread

[@bonsummers2657]

Remember Jeff Parker surfing maxing Todos in 1983, on a short board.

[@hoss6048]

I’m not a surfer but I enjoy the video.

[@WatermanSurin]

love it! Good edit Surfline.

[@coldcrush9]

All I need is some tasty waves, cool buds, and I'm fine. -Jeff Spicoli

[@klaiejah]

What was the stirring sound byte playing during Greg Long’s big wave?

[@dongaza6878]

Edwards point right below El Cap had some insane action

[@markmcallister-i4z]

and remember..the coastline is changing, the ocean is swallowing up the beach

[@mikecrawford73]

No brains no headaches some should get closer Mother Nature is the real deal tough to laugh when you get sweep away

[@dman030]

rad, stoked for you guys. a little Waimea out in Cali! woot! 🤙🏄‍♂

[@rawheadrex]

I saw this once in Barbados , the waves trashed beach houses and i got munched by the biggest wave i ve ever seen

[@thomasgores2268]

I'm from Northern California, those waves remind me of mavericks