Short Video of the Big South Swell

I packed up my camera & tripod, suited up and took my board down to the pier today.  My intent was to get some footage of the apex of the south swell rolling through, then paddle out myself.  But I was surprised to only find 3 dudes out in the water when I arrived.  I’d never seen Huntington so empty of surfers.  And after watching the waves for a bit I could see why – the waves were choppy, sectiony and mean.  So not only were they difficult to negotiate, they were big, strong and unforgiving.  I took a bit of footage from the pier then headed down to the beach to paddle out.  But at beach level I saw some firemen and lifeguards tending to a guy I’d seen eat it earlier.  He looked pretty beat up.  No one in the water + surfer requiring medical attention + no buddy for buddy-system = lay day.  Here’s a quick minute of the footage I picked up:

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/14427632[/vimeo]