Jay Watson Photography

Each day this week I will be posting images from the only summer swell that hit Northern California. This is the second post out of 5 scheduled. People talked about this swell for days online. We heard it was coming and it sounded good by the time it hit Southern California. Unfortunately it was so good there was a death at the Wedge in Newport Beach, CA. You can get a sense of the size in this video clip here. Santa Cruz got the best of this swell up north, but the legendary longboard spot of Cowell’s remained dormant. Due to the swell direction, it missed Ocean Beach in San Francisco altogether, leaving one northern friend online to say “So much for this over hyped southern swell.”

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Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, The Hook. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA © Jay Watson Photography.

There was only one swell that hit Northern California this past summer. All the others were over hyped or they just passed right on through. A few magic days came to Santa Cruz starting on July 24th. The swell arrived on a Thursday evening and by Tuesday morning it was long gone. There were some other waves this past summer, but nothing like those special 4 days in July. I finally got a chance to go over my edits this weekend. Here are two gems from the last few mysterious hours of our only summer swell. “Forget it kid, they’re ghosts.”

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Summer Swell, Capitola, CA © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA © Jay Watson Photography.

About the shoot: Fog causes noise. Embrace what you can not control.