Every winter when the rain comes surfers start talking about the possibility of sandbars. Thanks to last winter's El Nino (warm Pacific Ocean waters that lead to evaporation and rain storms), sandbars were formed at many of the usual breaks in town creating shallow depths that help shape and propel waves. Many new, mystery breaks favored by locals were also formed. We don't talk about the latter. We'll just leave it at that.
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| El Nino driven winter storm swell |
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| Sand filled into this cove and the waves were so epic and the surfing so good the cameras came out |
The sand comes from the erosion of cliffs and sandstone that is washed out to sea by runoff from rain down the creeks and rivers. Due to the continuous movement of water and currents and tides, sand likewise continues to move. A good sandbar will only remain so long. Everything about surfing is like that: it's continuously in motion and changing and dependent on wind and its direction and of course storm systems that come to the West Coast from predominantly the north Pacific in fall & winter and south Pacific in spring.
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| Sandbar forming at Cowells, Dec. 2015 |
Cowells is on the map as the best surfing spot for beginners in California. Experienced noseriders also show up here when a sandbar appears as it did this winter. Every Westsider made it down to the new beach, if only to chill with neighbors and watch the little ones surf. South swells this spring have been epic.
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| Run off from El Nino |
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