Waiting on waves

The surf picked up in Newport Beach this Big Wednesday, although in different spots than expected.

Some sets hit nearly 10 feet at the rocky groins near 28th and 30th streets. The Santa Ana River mouth was large but not rideable, local surfers said.

Early-morning surfers saw rough murky waters in Newport Beach Wednesday morning. And things did not clean up until about 9 a.m. just as Surfline.com forecasters predicted.

The surf was nowhere near clean enough as wave riders battled a wickedly strong current from the north. The rides were spotty with only a few barrel runs by seasoned professionals.

“There are fewer people getting good rides, and a lot just sitting out there waiting,” said former Aloha surfboard shaper Chris Kuhta. “I sure hope it gets a lot cleaner.”

“It’s a great day for us old guys to watch,” Kuhta’s friend Paul Slavik said.

Newport was probably one of the more crowded beaches since it was protected from the side-winding current by the groins along the northern half of the Balboa Peninsula.

In Huntington Beach only a handful of riders braved the waves, which were at least 5 feet higher and completely exposed to the current.

“I’ve never seen it like that before,” said Nick Mahan, also watching the waves with his buddies Slavik and Kuhta from the safety of the bike paths at the back of the beach. “It was comical just guys sitting there like on a cable, getting dragged from one lifeguard tower to the next.”

Even in Newport there were “few people getting any good waves, most [were] just sitting there,” Kuhta said.

“We went and looked all the way up at Bolsa and only saw three people all the way to the [Huntington] pier,” Huntington Beach resident George Groter said.

Groter decided not to test the nearly 15-foot surf at Bolsa Chica State Beach Wednesday, and opted instead to head down to his old stomping grounds on the sands in front of 28th Street. This area was by far the most heavily crowded and active wave set, and it was packed with mostly resident surfers.

“Whenever it gets really big like this, that is definitely, in my opinion, the best waves in Newport,” Lifeguard Brian O’Rourke said.

In preparation for the big surf, lifeguards beefed up patrols but, luckily, had a slow morning. There were no rescues as most of the people in the water were already pretty experienced surfers.

SWELL FORECAST

Today: Surf expected to be 5-8 feet. Head-high to 3 feet overhead. Fair-plus conditions.

Friday: Surf expected to be 3-4 feet. Waist- to shoulder-high, occasionally getting up to 5 feet. Poor conditions.

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KELLY STRODL may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at kelly.strodl@latimes.com.