Big Waves Mostly for Chairmen of the Boards

Hurricane Javier gave surfers one of their best days of the summer Wednesday, as eight- to 10-foot swells pounded south-facing beaches, closing the Aliso Beach Pier and bringing out red flags at lifeguard towers up and down the Orange County coast.

At T-Street Beach in San Clemente, a popular spot for swimming and belly-boarding, lifeguard Jim Popa posted a sign on his tower so that beachgoers would think twice before testing the dangerous waters. It said: “Only The Best Should Enter.”

And for the most part, only the best were there, Popa said, with the huge waves persuading most people to stay out of the water.

A few hundred yards down the beach, however, lifeguards had to make several rescues of groups of swimmers who got caught in rip currents and were in danger of being swept under the municipal pier.

“We had to get them out of there, or else they eat piling soup,” lifeguard Lynn Hughes said.

For surfer Ryan MacDonald, however, Javier’s waves made Wednesday the best day of the summer.

“We were getting barreled a lot--you know, tubed, when you’re surrounded by water and you’re still riding the wave,” said MacDonald, 14, of Mission Viejo.

But it wasn’t all fun.

“We were getting pounded out there,” said Ryan’s friend, Leigh Bohnet, 14, also of Mission Viejo. Ryan’s brother, Greg MacDonald, 10, nodded in agreement.

The hurricane, which as of Wednesday evening was 860 miles south-southwest of Los Angeles, is moving west with winds of 65 knots gusting to 80 knots, the National Weather Service said. It is not expected to decrease significantly before Saturday afternoon, so beachgoers can expect waves up to eight feet through at least part of the Labor Day weekend.

Some residents along the southern Orange County coast, especially between Dana Point and Laguna Beach, were reporting large concentrations of brown foam from the shoreline on out about 150 yards. The Harbor Patrol said the foam is not pollution but merely the result of waves crashing against the rocks.

At Aliso Beach Wednesday, the pier was closed because of the swells, and lifeguards were not allowing anyone in the water unless they were wearing fins. “The waves are just too dangerous,” said lifeguard Scott Treloar. “They’re breaking right on shore.”

Lifeguards in Laguna Beach, where about 8,000 people lay on the sand Wednesday, also raised red flags and tried to keep most swimmers out of the water. Still, about 25 people had to be rescued, lifeguard Mitch Ritter said.

“Great. Excellent. Kind of scary, though.” That is how Jeff Gomez described the surfing at Brooks Street Beach in Laguna. Gomez, 21, said he called in sick at his warehouse job and drove all the way out from his home in Cucamonga when he heard of the good conditions.

“This is the best we’ve had since last winter,” he said.

Times staff writer Gordon Grant contributed to this story.