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‘Big Wednesday’ hits Long Beach

Two things every southern California native loves: perfect, breezy 75-degree weather and a solid, tropical hurricane swell.

Surfers and photographers anxiously waited for Tropical Storm Lowell to strike The Wedge in Newport Beach on Wednesday afternoon. Lifeguards prepped for the storm by doubling their crew; they waited for the long, risky day of massive surf ahead.

In the surf community, hurricane swells that hit the coasts always go down in history due to their rare, coincidental timing on Wednesdays. Huntington Beach resident Corky Crandall has surfed along the coast of California and Mexico; he said that he appreciates their appearances.

Spectators watch in awe as Tropical Storm Lowell breaks along The Wedge in Newport Beach on Wednesday.
Courtesy of Ricky Birks
Spectators watch in awe as Tropical Storm Lowell breaks along The Wedge in Newport Beach on Wednesday.

“It’s great to see all the local legends going big during these swells, and it is really awesome how hundreds of people come out to watch,” Crandall said. “They even applaud and scream after the guys catch waves. It really feels like our cities come together for the sport of surfing.”
Cal State Long Beach surfing team member Bobby Ellis was at the Wedge and appreciated the big surf.
For other Southern California natives, Wednesday brought crashing walls of water, doing their best “Pipeline, Hawaii” impression.
“This hurricane is going to bring in some extremely dangerous, powerful rip currents,” Huntington Beach Lifeguard Supervisor Anders Hamborg said. “It’s best that those who aren’t experts in the ocean should not attempt to surf or even go near the water at all.”
Grady Hallian, a Seal Beach resident who rents an apartment near the beach, was forced to act quickly in order to keep a pool of salt water from reaching his kitchen floor.
“Lots of people…all my neighbors were outside, noticing the hurricane waves start to build late Tuesday afternoon,” said Grady. “And then we noticed that Seal Beach Fire Department arrived bringing more and more sand bags to tower in front of our places. This made us sort of nervous for the hurricane at first, but since most of the community consists of surfers and ocean-lovers, we all were excited to see 20-foot waves.”

Courtesy of Ricky Birksr
Courtesy of Ricky Birks

“Big Wednesday,” is the name of an iconic Hollywood surfing film, which was released in 1978.

Nick Roman, a journalism professor at CSULB and KPCC radio host, expressed nostalgia when he heard of the big waves rolling in on Wednesday.

“Whenever giant swells hit our beaches, especially when Newport Beach’s most famous spot, ‘the Wedge’ creates perfect, 30 foot tubes off of the jetty… attracting hundreds of spectators, it brings me back to ‘Big Wednesday,’” Roman said. “…that classic surf film starring crazy Gary Busey.”

Southern California will remain an exciting playground for surfers and a swell showcase for spectators. The large hurricane surf is expected to last throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

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