Big Breakers Provide a Swell Show

Crowds leaned over the rails of the Ventura Pier and gazed at the foaming ocean and rolling rocks.

Visitors on the beach stood dangerously close to the water’s edge taking family photos, while others faced the ocean with legs dangling as they sat on the wooden beams under Eric Ericcson’s, a restaurant at the pier.

Even on a gray and gloomy Sunday, the county’s shoreline drew hundreds of onlookers eager for a chance to enjoy the show provided by the pounding waves.

The water was much calmer than it had been Friday, when swells reached 20 feet and waves crashed into about a dozen homes along the Ventura County coast, but the diminished swells were still spectacular to look at Sunday, beach-goers said.

“Mother Nature is really letting us enjoy a beautiful scene,” said Doris Strabel, a San Fernando Valley resident who watched the waves crashing against the Ventura Pier as she sipped coffee, and her husband, Richard, snapped photos with a disposable camera.

“I’m glad I’m on this side and not on that side,” she said, pointing to the water.

Spectators enjoyed the view, but lifeguards warned that although the ocean looked more peaceful than it had at the start of the weekend, it was still treacherous. And surf conditions will probably get worse as a new Pacific storm front, which hit Ventura County late Sunday afternoon, continues to drop rain on this area through Tuesday.

“It is deceiving,” Ventura State Beach lifeguard John Regan said of the ocean. “Keep your eyes on the water. Use extra caution. Stay off the beach or far away from the beach, because it is dangerous and it will remain that way for the next few days.”

Not everyone followed that advice.

Earlier Sunday, a woman was knocked over by a wave as she stood on the shore near San Jon Road and Harbor Boulevard in Ventura.

Julie Swope, 55, was swept off her feet, carried about 50 feet down a flood-control channel and forced under the Harbor Boulevard over-crossing by rushing water. She was rescued by firefighters who had been conducting a training session nearby.

“It was pretty scary,” said Colleen Williams of Ventura. Williams, who was jogging with her dog, saw Swope being carried down the channel and ran to get the firefighters. “There were a lot of people standing right next to the shore and I thought, that’s pretty stupid, because [the waves] were big.”

Nadia Yousef also found out how rough the waves could be. In the afternoon, the 16-year-old was watching her 5-year-old brother, Rony, play in the foamy waters when a large wave knocked the boy over and tumbled him farther into the ocean. She managed to get Rony out after grabbing him by the waist, but had to struggle against the undertow.

Although Sunday’s waves--which averaged about 5 to 10 feet--resulted in no reports of damage, weather forecasters said a cold front moving onshore could make the waves swell again.

Wave heights could reach 20 feet today, said John Sherwin, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which supplies forecasts to The Times. Lows today are expected to be in the 50s, warming up to the 60s by afternoon, Sherwin said.

Ventura County is expected to have scattered showers today, with heavier rain due toward evening, Sherwin said.

“If people need to make plans, honestly, this won’t be the type [of storm] where you see incredible flooding or landslides, but people should be aware that the brunt of the storm will be [tonight] and Tuesday night,” Sherwin said.

On Sunday, though, the county Fire Department reported no road closures. A road near Rincon Beach, which had been closed earlier in the weekend, was open again.

One rain-related accident was reported in Ventura County on Sunday, in which a motorist was injured at Jose and Mariano drives near Ojai about 5:50 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The weather lull came after waves pounded the coast Friday and parts of Saturday, crashing against homes in Solimar, Faria Beach and Oxnard Shores. Crews scrambled to clear the rubble tossed onto the streets and shore by the crashing waves.

Most of the Ventura Pier, which sustained damage estimated at less than $20,000, was closed Friday and remained shut Sunday, though spectators watched the ocean from a small section still open to the public.

“Remember this all used to be beach?” one father said to his two small children as they stood on the pier facing Surfer’s Point. “Now it’s all rock.”

The storm-strengthened waves had covered much of the sandy beach with rocks. Halfway between the pier and Surfer’s Point, one surfer was pushed against the rocky shore by a strong wave, scraping the bottom of his surfboard.

Lifeguard Steve Ramirez said it’s crucial for surfers to avoid the area beneath the pier. “Those struts can break your neck” if a wave smashes a surfer into a pier piling, he said.

Jim Crocker, a 53-year-old Ventura resident who sat under the pier at Eric Ericcson’s restaurant, said it comes down to valuing the water’s beauty while respecting its power.

“I really like the ocean,” Crocker said as he watched his 8-year-old son gathering foam. “It’s really powerful. You learn to respect it.”