August proving to be banner month for surfers

Alex Coolman

For the third time this month, solid southerly swells are pounding the

Newport coast, bringing red flags to local lifeguard towers and smiles to

the faces of surfers. And it’s only mid-August.

Waves up to 10 feet hit south-facing beaches Wednesday, producing

currents that kept lifeguards busy.

Jim Turner, lifeguard captain with the Newport Beach Fire and Marine

Department, said guards made about 75 rescues over the course of the day.

There were no serious injuries associated with the waves, a merciful

relief from the wreckage brought on by some of this month’s earlier,

larger swells. But red flags indicating hazardous conditions flew at many

beaches.

The waves are expected to hold steady through the week, possibly even

bumping up a notch by Friday, lifeguards said.

But it’s no fluke that the surf is pumping so consistently at this

time of year, Turner said.

“It’s always this way,” he said, adding that this season’s combination

of powerful winter storms from the Southern Hemisphere and hurricanes in

Mexican waters is the cause of the pounding surf.

Wednesday’s waves were the product of south-southwest swells and a

smaller northwest wind swell. The mix made for nicely shaped waves at

some locations, but didn’t have quite the undercurrent of danger that a

single, powerful southern pulse can sometimes create.

“It was good, but it wasn’t so much that it wasn’t just fun and

comfortable,” Turner said.