Big Thursday! (Lots of Photos)

As many of you may know, it was a windy day yesterday. Along with that wind, a storm from the south generated some pretty big waves the last couple days. Sets up to 10 feet. And for those that don't know, that's pretty big for Orange County beaches. When the big waves hit, it hits especially hard at The Wedge in Newport Beach. They call it The Wedge because the waves hit the jetty from the channel and bounce back. Those waves meet up with the new set coming in and creates a huge wedge type wave. It's a very popular place for body surfing and body boarding. Growing up in Newport, we used to go down often to watch the big breaks and people getting some great rides (I was never brave enough to go in on a big day down there). The locals weren't the only ones. Crowds gather on the big days and sometimes you see quite a show.

Yesterday I braved the 30+ mile an hour winds to get some pictures. I found myself clicking away and took quite a few. Below are some of what I got. It was really windy and the waves were choppy, so not very many people were in the water. But on a calm day, you would see 20+ people in the water. The waves were about 6-8 feet yesterday. I took some color and some black and white shots.

Enjoy!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000007.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000001.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000015.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000023.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000027.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000029.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000033.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000046.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000047.jpg



This guy came in and tried to catch a few waves. He was successful on some. You can see how big the waves are with him in the shots.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000053.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000056.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000057.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000062.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000064.jpg


Some perfect examples of "the wedge"
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000066.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000067.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000068.jpg


Here's that guy taking off on one of the waves.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000072.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000076.jpg

Amazing photos thanks for sharing them with us

Beautiful photos, thank you for sharing them.

I love the ocean! Wish I could have seen that.

Thank you for posting these!

Just a few more shots.

The Wedge sits on the north side of the Newport Channel. The swells often come into the channel and break off the south jetty. It was small this day, but I've seen it bigger and sometimes people surfing them for fun.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000037.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000013.jpg


Across the channel is Big Corona and it was breaking pretty big there too. You can see the waves higher than the jetty at times.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000038.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000073.jpg


Here's a shot of the crowd gathered to watch. As I got there, many people were leaving and when I left, many were still coming to see the "show".
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000035.jpg

No lifeguard...it's off season.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000043.jpg

But the Fire helicopter flew over head. There was also a fire truck there (which sometimes they just come down to watch too) but it drove off. There was a couple of policemen there trying to keep people from walking out too far on the jetty.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...s/IM000042.jpg

And that's all!:)

Great pics GSwizzle. I hope ScarLion comes in and explains the whole concept in simple speak like he was kind enough to do for me!

Thanks everyone. It was really really windy!! I got sand blasted at times. I also kept having to clean off my glasses from the salty spray.:lol:

Awesome photos Grumpy4!

Thanks for sharing them. :)

Kimber, those are fabulous pictures! Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing G$!

dear lord jeebus!

Great photos, thank you for sharing them. You guys with the ocean are SO lucky, and I speak for all of Arizona when I say we hate you.


Oh, also, I always thought it was called 'The Wedge' because of what it does with your swimsuit, but now I know...

Thanks for sharing :)

great pics, I am glad you got some of a person out there trying to surf them, its the only way to tell how big they were. The wind was definitely really bad yesterday (thankfully its over now).

Awesome pics. I heard about the monster waves from my friend Susan. I miss CA beaches.