Usually dormant, North Island is a peaceful beach reserved for naval personnel. With the sounds of freedom thumping and humming from the runway just steps from the beach, this tiny patch of the Pacific usually offers a direct contrast to the activity on the base. Until……

Until a south swell works its way in. Then, its organized chaos. The bridge to Coronado is heavy with surfboard-laden autos coming to the Island. Parking on the north end goes back several blocks from the beach and the sound of wax being rubbed onto boards and wetsuits being zipped up breaks the early morning silence. Its a frothy time of the year. Its the time of the South Swell.

Summer leaves a shallow matrix of sandbars that eagerly await the swell. When it comes, and in this case it is being driven by Hurricane Jova off of Baja, the sandbars cause the swell to pop up as it makes it inevitable march toward shore. The result: beautiful barrels for breakfast! My images from Saturday morning (9/9/23) are here: https://www.derekemgephotography.com/Sessions

The playing field is large and the players are many. This is just the beginning and the next few days look really promising. So grab your wax, get down to a south facing beach, and enjoy the rare moments of sun, swell and warm water! I’ll see you out there!