Pier Pressure

Giant waves pounded the coast Monday with the season’s biggest swells, testing the strength of the newly renovated Ventura Pier and hampering the nighttime search for survivors and debris from the downed Alaska Airlines jetliner near Anacapa Island.

Rough waters are expected again today with swells of up to 12 feet along the Ventura County coastline, prompting a heavy-surf advisory until noon today by the National Weather Service.

The 1,580-foot Ventura Pier took a beating by waves of up to 15 feet before sunrise Monday.

City engineer Rick Raives stood on the pier as the tide peaked at 6 a.m. to see how a $1.9-million renovation sustained its first major test.

Crashing water broke one of the older wood pilings and loosened five others, but caused no damage to the pier’s newest portion, which was built four feet higher than the original to make it easier for big waves to pass beneath.

“The steel-supported portion of the pier didn’t even move,” he said. “It’s rock solid.”

About 400 feet of the pier was destroyed during a storm in December 1995, and the city has since replaced 80 feet with steel pilings. Structural work was completed last month, and a grand opening is scheduled April 1.

A series of strong storms that originated in the Gulf of Alaska soaked Ventura County over the weekend and has produced dangerous ocean conditions from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles County that are expected to last until late today, said Bill Hoffer, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The forecast calls for sunny skies on Wednesday and a slight chance of rain on Thursday.

By 9 a.m. Monday, five surfers caught in 12-foot waves off San Buenaventura State Beach were helped by state lifeguards, who used loudspeakers on their patrol vehicles to coach the surfers ashore.

Three docks in Ventura Harbor were heavily damaged in the storm, sending one 32-foot sailboat adrift, said Scott Miller, the harbor operations manager.

“We certainly got one of the bigger storms this winter,” Miller said.

All whale-watching tours from Ventura’s Island Packers Cruises were canceled, because boats couldn’t safely leave Ventura and Channel Islands harbors Monday morning, said Paula Chavez, a company spokeswoman.

About 11 a.m., state lifeguards rescued a 27-year-old Ventura man from the waters near the entrance of Ventura Harbor after his 12-foot inflatable boat capsized.

The man was an inexperienced boater who was testing his maritime skills to take photos of the ocean, said lifeguard John Regan.

Veteran surfers called Monday’s swells the biggest they’ve seen this winter, but too stormy to ride. Dozens of men sipped coffee at Surfers Point in Ventura and exchanged opinions about the giant waves, but few ventured out.

“It’s like a washing machine out there,” said Ventura surfer Robie Michelin, 38.

Shane Allen, 17, of Ventura, was among the few surfers who paddled out. After 15 minutes of battling the surf, he was back at the beach with a swollen hand that he thought was broken. He complained about the “bumpy” surf, shrugged off his injury and headed alone to a nearby hospital.

The strong current nearly slammed surfer Sean Walsh, 16, into the pilings of the Ventura Pier as he tried to get back to shore.

Walsh and another teen started at Surfers Point and were pulled rapidly past the pier. Walsh had to abandon his surfboard to make it back safely. The board washed ashore a few minutes later.

“I realized it was too strong by the time we got out there,” said Walsh, still breathless from the swim.

Lifeguard Rian Ketterer said he spent his morning diving in after inexperienced young surfers.

“We haven’t had a lot of surf this season,” he said. “So everybody’s out here.”