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The author, Jon Coen, enjoying some holiday surf. Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Johnson
You wake before sunrise to check the buoys or the wind. As you’re gathering your board and gear knowing that everything is coming together, you’re said to be “like a kid on Christmas morning.”
It may be a well-worn metaphor, but it’s a good one. If the passions we follow – surf, snow, trail, or other – can replicate that childlike enthusiasm in adulthood, it means we’re doing it right.
“My family always knows that Christmas is all the more merry if we can get some waves first. That’s why those celebrations in our home are always held in the evening,” says Hawaiian pro charger, Evan Valiere, of Kauai, who just finished the competitive season on the North Shore.
But tomorrow actually is Christmas morning.
We’ll gather with family and friends to unwrap new flannels and go way too heavy on the cookies. And for many of us, while the stocking are hung by the chimney with care, so are the wetsuit boots. For most waveriders, surfing on Christmas is as much of a holiday tradition as cheap foreign-made twinkling lights that don’t last a season. Who the hell cares about the Disney parade when the surf’s clean? So here’s a bit of roundup of who’s getting swell this holiday and who’s getting a big lump of coal.
Santa is skunking SoCal this Christmas. Photo: Courtesy of Julio Cesar Duarte
The folks in Southern California must have done something to land on the naughty list because they’re getting nuthin’ for Christmas and sadly, raging wildfires to deal with. Today is small and there’s only a slight waist high bump forecasted for tomorrow. Winds will be light for most of the holiday, but the swell’s looking pretty lackluster.
If you’re brother happens to find a new board under the tree, maybe you can borrow it (it’s the holidays, what’s he gonna say?) on Tuesday when a little more west/northwest swell filters in. California never stays flat for long. Plus, Christmas weather is pretty much the same as 4TH of July and Halloween anyway.
Northern California looks to do a bitter better. Santa Cruz should get the Christmas spirit in the form of 5-foot swell at 15 seconds tomorrow. A bigger version of that hits San Francisco, although more raw while everyone else is watching the Raiders game.
There is no excuse to not have your holiday shopping done over here on the East Coast. Following a historic fall, it’s been flat for nearly two weeks. A system moving eastward across the country could make the holiday a bit cheerier. The moderately strong front created south winds over much of the Atlantic Seaboard. Most of the energy is supposed to be pointed at the Mid-Atlantic and parts of New England today with winds looking west, trending more north. Something about the holidays always brings swell.
Christmas morning will deliver more than just presents to the East Coast: Southern New England should see significant swell. Photo: Courtesy of Russ Roe
“The three days out of the fickle year of waves that I can count on are Thanksgiving, Superbowl Sunday and Christmas. I don’t think I’ve ever made it to a holiday meal on time,” says surfer/shaper Mikel Evans of Hampton, New Hampshire.
The Outer Banks and Virginia will only see minimal swell and the wind may not fully cooperate. The meat of this one looks to be hitting Delmarva through Southern New England. Rhode Island surfers could be feeling pretty holly and jolly on this Christmas Eve with waist to head-high sets. There looks to be a little leftover tomorrow for longboards.
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As the front moves offshore, the wind is going to come up hard offshore for east-facing breaks. Then the temps and swell are going to drop drastically. Winter weather is all charming in this part of the world at Christmas, but not so much for the next four months.
The Sunshine State could get some waves in the near future. Photo: Courtesy of Rusty Clark/Flickr
While Florida deals with a crush of tourists escaping the cold for their holiday breaks, they won’t have a whole lot of surf on offer on Christmas morning. But the wind should blow northeast the next few days to put some little chop in the water for the Sunshine State.
Hawaii is where it’s really going to light up. The North Shore could be Mele Kaliki Mackin’ today as everyone starts prepping the Christmas pig. The entire surfing world was completely focused on Hawaii last week for the finals of the Billabong Pipe Masters. But while John John Florence unwrapped his second world title and Jeremy Flores pulled the Pipe Masters crown out of his figgy pudding, the swell for most of the event wasn’t what the holiday could see.
“I am always trying to find good waves on Christmas Day. It makes it that much more memorable. That way, you can always recall ‘oh yeah, we surfed spot X that year on Christmas,” says Valiere.
The North Shore will be firing. Photo: Courtesy of KeokI Saguibo
“I remember the swell lined up epic on Christmas in 2005, but it would take a bit of adventure via the Waverunner. There were four guys hanging on with boards and gear, but at one point, I noticed we reached a nice planning speed. A few minutes later I realized we had lost two guys off the back of the ski. Their yells had been drowned out by the ski. We got to the break and had to turn around to find our lost buddies. It really wasn’t that dangerous, but they would have had a long swim. We scored perfect two to four-foot peaks that day with one other crew. There were smiles and holiday cheer all around.”
A wide area of low pressure that swung through the North Pacific a few days ago sent a decent swell that started filling into north-facing breaks yesterday. Depending on when the swell peaks, reefs could be pulling in triple overhead surf at 13 seconds today with a slightly smaller version and less trades on Christmas Day.
Here’s hoping all of your holiday dreams are fulfilled. Now go find a few bumps.
