So Ya Think U CAN BodySurf

Yea I Thought I COULD Spin along a wave with a fair bit of style and grace, and wouldn't ya know it just when I started thinking I was pretty good these pictures popped up.

A POD of ORCA dropped in on a group of local surfers and took over the break - Northland -New Zealand - Spring 2010

Typhoon Chaba #15 2010 Report

Picture is small but this wave is double over head (at least) - Wakayama (Nanki) got very nice typhoon swell from Chaba.

Tokyo Bay (Shonan) and Chiba did not get any swell from this event. 99% of Tokyo surfers that ventured out to hunt surf went to Shonan as the typhoon hit on Saturday & were totally skunked, waves were waist to chest high. For those that stayed around 30 minutes before dark they popped up overhead.
Surfline and Buoy Weather predicted the swell to come from 217º + - 10º. Which was pretty accurate as the map shows the swell was heading NE at 230º. At this angle Tokyo Bay is completely shadowed by IZU and Mera / Heisaura are 100% shadowed by Ogasawara island.  Sean Collins the head forecaster at Surfline says that swells of medium period (10 - 14 seconds) have little propensity to bend around islands and underwater bathymetry.

As shown by the surf in Wakayama there were plenty of waves around for those exposed reefs and beaches.

Points:
1. Chaba started losing strength from Thursday 28th in the morning and sped up.
2. Chaba's winds were only driving swell at an angle to get into Tokyo for 18 hours on the 27th all the rest of it was angled to hit Izu and or ogasawara  island.

Summary: For a big typhoon this turned into a non-event for Tokyo area surfers. Southern Japan seems to have gotten it good and Ibaraki will get nice back kicked swell as it passes.

Typhoon Warning from NHK Surfing Japan

高い海面水温　台風に警戒

暴風や大雨をもたらす台風。熱帯地方で発生する低気圧の中で、最大風速が毎秒１７．２メートル以上になったものを台風と言います。台風のエネルギーは熱い海からの水蒸気。記録的な猛暑となったこの夏、８月の日本周辺の海面水温も過去２５年間で最も高くなっていたことがわかりました。海面水温が平年よりも高い状態はしばらく続く見込みで、気象庁は「台風が接近した場合は勢力が衰えにくい」と話しています。台風への警戒は怠らずに。

Google translation is an interesting read - - - - -  -

High sea surface temperature typhoon alert

Storms and typhoons bring heavy rain. In tropical cyclones occur per second is called a typhoon wind speed of 17.2 meters was something. Typhoon energy hot water vapor from the sea. Record heat wave this summer and found that it had been the highest in the past 25 years, sea surface temperatures around Japan in August. Higher than the state average sea surface temperature is expected to continue for some time, the weather bureau, "it is difficult if the typhoon influence wane," we said. Carefully to the typhoon warning.


translation:
Typhoons are storms with winds above 17.2 meters / second 
There was a record Hot summer this year and the seas around Japan are super heated. 
Typhoons draw the energy from hot seas
be warned the storms are expected to be bigger than normal this year.

Surfing, Summer, Tokyo, Japan, ladies

The girls have been out in force around the Tokyo region this summer riding every type of craft imaginable and loving it and competing for waves - Oh Yea, bring it on girl power!!!!!

Japan Surf, Ibaraki Surfing, 2010 Pictures Video Link

http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k91/macaholic_2001/?action=view&current=Ibaz_no_web.flv

A interesting clip of Surf in Ibaraki  - April 2009

Hazaki Beach Mid Summer 2010

Kawajiri in Ibaraki, winter 2010

Hurricane Earl, South Carolina, Surfing Pictures, Beach Break Barrels

Ron sent me these pictures of his sessions with Mr Earl - and damm they look good - he has a blog which is a good read, an eclectic mix of surf and trips and kids and trivia. http://wtofadreamer.tumblr.com The Wandering Thoughts of a Day Dreamer.




We spent a few years chasing typhoons up and down the East Coast of Japan and now he's switched to chasing Hurricanes

Summer Blues, Surf, Autum, Typhoons, Storms, Japan

This is the East coast of America , about to get slammed by Hurricane Earl - Oh Yea 

The Summer of 2010 will be remembered as a season when the hot got hotter, 100 year record for the hottest year - - Ahhhhhh!! 


And I reckon a record for the Lack of swells hitting the land of the rising sun. Blame El Nino, Blame global warming  --- what ever !! the patterns are all over the place. 

At least we don't have tar balls in Panhandle lineups.                                                                      

 So now our attention turns to Autum  and   if an epic autumn arrives at the cost of a less salubrious summer, it's a fair trade. And a fair wait.

Pic ripped from Surfline