Laguna’s high surf: ‘As good as it gets’

Bill Bryan woke up before dawn Wednesday, but as the clock ticked past 8 a.m. and the sun shone, he thought he was still in a dream.

The 41-year-old Laguna Beach resident and 14-time world champion skimboarder has surfed his whole life and never seen the sort of waves that pounded the sand at Aliso Beach Park.

“It’s challenging, beautiful,” Bryan said while standing on wet sand, salt water dripping off his brow. “This is the biggest hurricane swell I’ve ever seen.”

Hurricane Marie, off the Baja coast, was responsible for the epic waves pounding Southern California beaches this week. By Thursday, the National Hurricane Center had downgraded Marie to a tropical storm.

City lifeguards Wednesday rescued 35 swimmers, which pales in comparison to the 300-plus that busy days can bring, Laguna Beach Marine Safety Officer Josh Bynum said. It appeared that many people were heeding lifeguards’ admonition to stay out of the water.

A high-surf advisory was set to expire at 1 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

At one point Wednesday, the ocean was free of swimmers except for three of Bryan’s buddies floating on their boards past the angry shorebreak.

Spectators and photographers scattered across the beach to glimpse the water’s fury. Sand had washed onto sidewalks and into the parking lot, and it appeared the storm surge had ripped at least one fire pit from its foundation.

“There’s a lot of water moving, so it takes a couple minutes to get out, past the trouble,” Bryan said. “There are boulders the size of Volkswagens tumbling in the shorebreak.”

This roiling of the ocean is notable for the frequency of the waves, Bynum said.

“With this storm, the waves are closer together and have a lot of energy behind them,” Bynum said. “With a storm in the Southern Hemisphere, like in New Zealand, the waves must travel a greater distance, so there’s a bigger interval between sets.

“Baja is a real short distance, so we’re seeing constant waves. There are no lulls.”

Bynum, stationed at Main Beach, said waves peaked at 10 to 12 feet Wednesday.

“This is a dream, the perfect swell,” Bryan said. “Every beach along the coast is as good as it gets.”

Bryan jogged south along the sand and paddled out to join his friends.

A few minutes later, Bryan hit pay dirt. He caught a wave, disappearing in the crest curling around him.