Big waves hit beaches

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Local beaches were filled with eager surfers and

bodyboarders Tuesday afternoon, all there in anticipation of a huge swell

expected to peak out today.

And most of them were not disappointed.

Brian Pickett of Santa Ana said Tuesday’s swell was probably the best

he had seen all winter.

“I heard about the waves on the news today,” he said. “You don’t hear

about this stuff on the news all the time. So I thought it had to be

pretty big.”

But Larry Lusher, who came from Orange, said he thought the waves

looked better about a week and a half ago.

“Today they’re great once you get past the breaks, which is hard to

do,” he said. “But I think overall we’re getting much better swells in

the winter than we did in the summer.”

Many said they thought the waves will be better today.

“The conditions are usually better in the morning,” said Chris

Norberg, a Newport Beach resident. “It’ll be really good [today].”

Experts say surfers can thank a storm that is brewing over the ocean

north of Hawaii for the big waves.

The waves could go anywhere between 6 to 8 feet or even bigger in

local beaches, said Chris Borg, a forecaster with Huntington Beach-based

Surfline.

“In Newport, the jetty area will probably get the heaviest surf,” he

said. “The waves will peak out [today] and will start winding down

Thursday.”

Borg said surfers have seen some pretty good swells through December

and January, thanks to “a good northwest season.”

Newport Beach lifeguards said their day was pretty quiet except one

rescue involving a surfer who got caught in a rip current near 44th

Street. But he was not hurt, Lifeguard Boyd Mickley said.

“This surf is nothing out of the ordinary for us,” he said. “But if

the situation warrants it, [today] we may assign more lifeguards to the

beach.”