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There’s only one group of people who were rejoicing the storms that have been ravaging California in the last couple of weeks. If you’ve been living under a rock, California has been copping torrential rain and rapid floods that have caused mass destruction and taken lives in its path. As citizens recover from the damages, surfers, maybe with a bit of guilt, have been living their best lives. Waves last week were firing at a variety of California’s favourite surf spots, even Slater joined in on the fun. According to pro surfer Jacob Szekely, Kelly flew to the West Coast in a seaplane when he caught wind of the forecasted swells. Baller alert…
Yes, it’s been a cracking start to 2023 for surfers in Cali. For everyday citizens, it’s been a nightmare. The “50-year storm” unfortunately forced thousands to evacuate their homes, took the lives of 18 people and estimated to cost over a billion dollars in damages.
Cali local and surf videographer Tucker Wooding spoke to Tracks about the chaos.
“It’s been super hectic the last couple of weeks in California. Raining sideways, insane wind and big surf. Santa Cruz got hit hard, with damage to roads and piers and more. I drove from the Bay Area down to Santa Barbara to film and it was a pretty insane drive weather wise until I hit the Santa Barbara coast. Then it cleared up and was a beautiful day on the Southern California coast. Filled with some solid waves too. Then when I drove back to the bay the weather got insane again. Had some power outages that night while packing to fly to Hawaii the next day lol.”
Due to the historic storm, there were a wide variety of waves to choose from along the West Coast. Here’s what was on menu for Cali surfers to feast on.
1. World-renowned novelty wave Sandpit was doing its thing.
2. Black’s beach was where the legit big-wave surfing was done at. Relocated Aussie surfer Josh Kerr was filmed taking on some monster left-handers.
3. Rincon was the cleanest and most appealing option out of the bunch. There was probably more chance in getting a wave at Pipe though.
4. Even the Golden Gate Bridge was firing…
Another winter storm is forecasted to reign havoc once again in California, and waves are expected to follow. It’s not your fault surfers, don’t feel guilty about enjoying the fruits of the storm.
