The Wedge // wipe out





Last week, the surf was unusually big, and those of you from around here know there is no better place to soak up a good swell than parked on the sand over at the Wedge in Newport Beach. Wide, enormous waves slamming straight on shoreline. Helicopters overhead, news vans, loud and boisterous crowds lining the beach, and plenty of professional surfers mixed with not so professional participants out at surf - both of which warrant the ambulance vehicles parked on shore, anticipating the possibility of any major crashes.

There are thunderous claps and screams erupt when a set reaches peak heights. A sight my camera skills can only hardly begin to relay. For some reason, they never look nearly as frightful on the shots I take. But the heart of this experience is what I love most, the wild energy on that beach is like nothing else I've known, and so incredibly fun to be part of.

The downside, is in the occasional wipe out that rushes out across the beach when the crowd least expects it to. A whitewash pushing much further than anticipated, which is exactly what happened to us this time around. We had moved our entire blanket back 15ft or so out of the front lines after one big wave came crashing towards it, only have the second spread out even further. Luckily lots of people helped pull our things from the water while we held onto the boys. Bikes, skateboards, towels, camera bag, keys and all! We were a wet and sandy mess afterwards.

We ended the night with a change of dry clothes and dinner down the road at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, all sinking spirits eased and lots of new tales for the neighbor kids upon our return.

I would say we're all looking forward to the next big swell.