Parallaxis: Heavy Surf in San Francisco

I like big waves (and I cannot lie). So this past Sunday was the perfect day to go to the beach. A series of storms over the Pacific had the water all sorts of agitated. By Monday, 30-foot swells were slamming the beaches along the Northern California coast.

Seeing huge waves crashing ashore fascinates me in a way that thunderstorms used to fascinate me back home. There's something about witnessing such awesome natural power. And the crashing of waves is about the closest thing we get to thunder out here on the WC.

And though it's not quite thunder, you might be surprised how close it actually is to thunder.

On Sunday, I went to Baker Beach to take some photographs and listen to the waves crash. Baker Beach is on the south side of the Golden Gate, just west of the Golden Gate bridge. Being inside the Golden Gate, the waves at Baker Beach don't get quite as big as the ones striking the beaches that directly face the ocean. But something about the shape of the beach, it's angle, or the underwater topography - I really don't know what it is - causes the waves to crash at Baker Beach with an incredible, thunderous BOOM that, in my experience, is quite unique. The waves don't roll in to Baker Beach, they hit all at once: KABLAM!

Here are a couple of videos I took with my not-video camera. I've embedded the videos here, but they don't seem to like to play smoothly from my page. So, if you get fragmented play like I do, I'd recommend going to the YouTube website to view them. Just click the links below each video.

If this plays all herky-jerky, try playing it again. It should play smoothly. And turn on your speakers. See? Thunder!
Click here to watch this on the YouTube website.

And here's one more. Yeah, there's a dude out there. He was boogie boarding and getting totally pummeled. But enjoying it!
Click here to watch this on the YouTube website.
My photos turned out better - probably because that's what my camera was made for. Though there was a lot of spray in the air, and the light was fading, so they're a tad grainy. You can view the entire gallery of 17 photos here.

And a few choice shots:

Here's Baker Beach. The Pacific Ocean is to the left, outside the frame of this picture. Those are the Marin Headlands across the bridge. And San Francisco Bay is on the other side of the bridge. The wave doesn't look that big, but it was easily 10-15 feet high. (Click the photo to enlarge)