Waves swell up at Wedge

A waning south swell brought waves with 12- to 15-foot faces to The Wedge Monday morning, filling the water at the small beach with surfers, body boarders and body surfers. By the afternoon, the surf calmed down and the sea got choppy with faster winds creating white caps, but 15 to 20 surfers and body boarders eagerly charged into the water anyway when the flag forbidding board riding was taken down.

The Wedge is one of Newport Beach’s most famous surf spots and its defining feature, a side wave that forms off the rocky jetty that marks one end of the beach, lends it its name. The beach is notorious for spinal injuries because the large, powerful waves break right on the shore, with little water under them.

“It’s all fine and dandy as long as you make it onto the shoulders [of the waves], but if you come in late, that’s when you break your board,” said surfer Corey Fleetwood.

Lifeguards ban board riding, only allowing body surfers in the ocean, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the summer months. Before and after those times, the beach is open to anyone.

Despite the hazardous conditions, lifeguards on the beach rarely have to get out into the water and make rescues.

“We do a lot of preventive action. When it’s this big you just make sure only professionals and expert people are in the water,” said lifeguard Kyle Hersh, who worked the morning shift.

Newport Beach lifeguards forecasted the swell gradually dying out overnight, but they said it would pick up again Wednesday.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.