It’s Not Your Average Surf, and Not for Average Surfers

Blackball flags heralding dangerous waters flew over the Wedge in Newport Beach on Wednesday, but if Jim Liautaud couldn’t use his board, he used his body.

With nothing to cling to but waves up to eight feet, Liautaud and half a dozen others body-surfed in breakers formed by winds from tropical storms near Mexico and South America.

Forecasts indicate that the surf will be about five feet in Orange County today, with a decrease on Friday.

At Huntington State Beach, waves that crested at about eight feet Tuesday rose to just four feet Wednesday, “with an occasional five- or six-footer,” lifeguard Rick Bryan said. “That’s still higher than normal. Usually, a lot of surfers sit on the beach when there’s a big surf because they’re afraid of it.”

But Liautaud, 21, of Westchester, said: “I’m not afraid. I’ve been in a few times when (the surf) has been bigger. It was bigger when I got here at about 10 this morning.

“It’s weird. When you’re in there, it’s different. It can’t really hurt you that bad. It can hold you under water for a while, but it’s not that scary.”

Since the surf began to rise last week, the number of rescues has risen along with it, peaking Monday at Huntington State Beach at 110--the number usually reported in a full month, lifeguard supervisor Richard Chew said.

At the Wedge, at the end of the Balboa Peninsula, where waves at the jetty can be spectacular when the surf’s up, lifeguards Wednesday hoisted the blackball flags signaling that the surf was too dangerous for surfboards. That left about 150 people sitting on a 200-yard stretch of sand in the hazy sunshine, watching the body-surfers play in the waves.

“It’s too big,” said Pat Noyes, 23, as he bounced a soccer ball on the sand. “It’s the first time I’ve seen it this big this summer.”

Gary Kuhl, filming the wave action with a video camera, agreed. “The surf’s too big; it’s scary.”

Kuhl, 22 of Whittier, said he films scenes at beaches, speedways and other places for use in area nightclubs. He had heard the surf was high at the Wedge and decided to get some footage.

“I haven’t body-surfed this summer yet, but there’s no way I’d go out in that,” he said.

“The waves break in the really shallow water. I used to work at a hospital and once four guys came in with broken necks from doing that.”

But at Laguna Beach, where waves reached about six feet, about 10,000 people played in the surf, lifeguard Chris Brown estimated.

At San Clemente Beach, where the surf is usually less than three feet, some eight-foot waves were seen, lifeguard Brian Covert said.

“About the same number of surfers are out, but (the surf) is a little too big for surfing,” he said. “The waves lose their shape at the beach break, and it’s dangerous.”

Blackballed at Times

Surfboarding was blackballed at times at the pier and mostly all day in the waters near Trafalgar Avenue in San Clemente, Chew said.

Waves up to seven feet lured surfers using soft, short boards to Seal Beach on Wednesday, said lifeguard Kenzo Hamilton, who pointed out that such “boogie boards” are about half as big as regular surfboards.

“Thank goodness we haven’t had any injuries, although the chances for injuries to occur are greater at this time,” he said. “But the waves are consistent, and there are a lot of opportunities for a good surf.”