On Thursday June 25, an eight-foot-long alligator cruised just past the surf line at Satellite Beach. 

George Walrath, the Nuisance Alligator Trapper for Brevard County insists there is little cause for alarm as this is a rare occurrence.  Alligators typically steer clear of saltwater.  “This is only the second one in the ten years I’ve been doing it” said Walrath.

Photographer Steven Harp, who has experience documenting animals of this type, agreed: “It was pretty eerie.  I’ve been on the beach here for almost 30 years, and I’ve never seen an alligator out in the ocean.” 

Harp photographed the reptile, saying it stayed 50 to 75 feet offshore for the two miles he stayed with him.  He noted that the salt water bothered the gator, as it swam with its head above water.

Walrath tried to snag the gator with a fishing line, but never caught it.  “It was out past the break in the surf, too far for me to catch,” he said.  “He was just moving north and stayed out of my reach.”

The next morning alligator tracks were found farther north, and it was assumed that he had disappeared into the dunes somewhere.  However,  it was decided that he wasn’t really a threat, so the hunt has been called off.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

It seems every week there’s a surf contest along some stretch of beach in Orange County these days.  Well here’s an event for the groms that sounds really cool.

The Western Surfing Association (WSA) is putting on its 4th Annual Menehune Surf Fest in a couple of weeks. 

The competition is for girls and boys between the ages of six and sixteen.  There will be divisions for shortboarders and longboarders.

If you’ve never competed in a surf contest, you’re a total beginner, or you just want to brush up on your competitive surfing skills then this is a great event. 

Parents can even take part in the nine and under push-in division where they can actually help they’re kids catch waves.

The 4th Annual WSA Menehune Surf Fest takes place at Goldenwest Street in Huntington Beach on Sunday July 12.  For more info. or contest entries, go to wsasurf.org.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

The beach clean up - which is desperately needed after all the people who come leave all their junk on the sand during the holiday - kicks off at 8 a.m. and runs until about 11 a.m.

Afterward, there will be a celebration from noon until 3 p.m. at Hennessey’s Tavern in Dana Point, featuring Barefoot Wine and bubbly.

The clean up is being held in conjunction with the South OC Surfrider.  Space is limited, and you must be 21 to go to the post-cleanup  party.

Also, if you help with the beach clean up, you’ll get a $5 gift card for Gelato Paradiso. Making the world a better place and getting ice cream. What more could you want?

Post from: OC Beach Blog

Just when the water was warming up a bit, the winds kicked up and dropped water temps in the bone-chilling 50s.

The chilly water will help out lifeguards, because people will stay in the water for shorter periods of time because of the temps.

If you are headed down to the beach, check out our OC Fourth of July Beach Guide

Post from: OC Beach Blog

Here’s what he wrote:

Because of California’s budget crunch and state parks’ efforts to raise revenue, San Onofre State Beach will soon begin charging $10 a day to park cars in Trestles’ 84-space public lot at El Camino Real and Cristianitos Road.

Read the entire story here.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

DRINKING? Make sure you hide your beers in West Newport:

This area has long been the drunken party central, where house parties in front yards are flowing with booze; hardly anyone has any clothes on; and the cops are scanning the area to bust anyone doing anything even slightly suspect.

Check out this video from last year’s craziness. And here’s another from Youtube, courtesy of djjson on Twitter.

Hundreds of thousands of people flood into Newport, and the Police Department has about 200 officers on scene to make sure things don’t get out of control. Newport - and back in the days Huntington Beach - have a bad rap for having crazy fights and riots on the 4th of July.

Huntington Beach has toned down, after police started crackin’ the whip and fining everyone for everything. But Newport is still pretty wild. Last year, police gave more than 370 citations for various violations, issuing more than 590 parking citations and arresting 159 people.

They note that 83 percent of those arrested have addresses outside of Newport Beach (Read: Inland Empire) Last year’s arrest totals were up 27.2 percent from the previous year’s total of 125, according to the police. The biggest problem areas include drinking in public, public intoxication, fighting, uncontrolled parties, possession of fireworks and igniting them in public. 

Fireworks are illegal to possess in the city of Newport Beach despite their sale in nearby cities.

So check it out - just be careful about taking your drinks out in the areas bordering the following areas, because fines are tripled: Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Boulevard, 32nd Street, the Pacific Ocean, and 54th Street.

The Police Department suggests people minimize the number of guests they invite to their parties, control those who attend, and make sure people who are drinking keep all open alcoholic beverages on their private property. 

Also, make sure you don’t park illegally, the towing companies are out scouting ways to make big bucks on this day. If you want more details, check out www.NBPD.org.

PARKING:

Will be insane everywhere. Good luck.

ROAD and PIER CLOSURE:

If you’re headed through or going to Huntington Beach, you may want to take note of some road closures along Pacific Coast Highway. The roads from Goldenwest street to Beach Boulevard on PCH will be closed starting at 5 a.m., until 2 p.m.

City beach parking is only accessible at Beach Boulevard, and gates open at 5 a.m.

The pier will be partially closed to the public starting at 5 p.m., because of the fireworks being launched off the end of the pier. PCH closes down from 7 p.m. until about 11 p.m. Also, Huntington Street will be closed to through traffic between Atlanta and PCH.

FIREWORKS AT THE BEACH

Here’s some spots you can check out firework shows along the coast:

Dana Point:

Independence Day Fireworks Extravaganza

When: Saturday, July 4 12:00p to 10:00p

Where: Doheny State Beach, Dana Point

More Info: An all-day festival is held at Doheny State Beach for the celebration of the 4th of July. And, of course, the day is finished with fireworks at 9 p.m. Get a map, see nearby restaurants, or add this event to your Google calendar.

Huntington Beach

2009 4th of July Parade & Pier Festival

When: Friday-Sunday, July 3-4, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Where: Huntington Beach Pier, Huntington Beach

More Info: Three-day long Fourth of July extravaganza at the Huntington Beach Pier at Main Street (Friday - Sunday). The all-day pier festival will entertain, while the 9 p.m. fireworks on Saturday will amaze. Get a map, see nearby restaurants or add this event to your Google calendar.

Newport Beach:

Fireworks Show at Newport Dunes

When: Saturday, July 4, 1p.m.

Where: Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina, Newport Beach

More Info: Family fun and games throughout the day with music, food, raffle, carnival games, contests, tournaments, ending with a spectacular fireworks finale! But you better get here early and save your spot to watch the show. There is a fee per car to enter. Get a map, see nearby restaurants or add this event to your Google calendar.

San Clemente:

4th of July Fireworks Show

When: Saturday, July 4, 9 p.m.

Where: San Clemente Pier, San Clemente

More Info: Come and enjoy an evening of outstanding fireworks. This event is free and begins at about 9 p.m. Get a map, see nearby restaurants or add this event to your Google calendar.

BONFIRES:

Expect fire rings to be scarce on the Fourthof July, with people arriving in the early morning hours to secure spots. If you want to give it a try, here’s a list of beaches that have fire rings. The ones with the most include Bolsa Chica and Huntington State Beach.

Bolsa Chica: 182 fire rings.
Huntington State Beach: 180 fire rings.
Huntington City Beach: A few hundred fire pits on a 3/4 mile stretch between Beach and First Street.
Newport Beach:  About 50 fire pits in Balboa and Corona del Mar.
Laguna Beach: County-run Aliso Beach has about a dozen fire rings.
Doheny State Beach: About 35 or so spots, and they are usually gone within a half hour of the park opening.
San Clemente City Beach: Four rings on the south side of the pier, fvie on the north side, stretching from North Beach to T-Street.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

Here’s an interesting story I came across on Surfline and although it hasn’t happened at any surf spots in this neck of the woods, maybe it’s something that should due to the growing number of people learning to surf. 

Just recently on the East Coast a handful of signs were posted at six of Long Island, New York’s most popular surf spots.

The Surfer’s Code signs have been put up in an effort to address the hundreds of entry level surfers that local surf  schools take out into the local lineups during the crowded summer months. 

The goal of the Surfer’s Code signs is to reduce the amount of avoidable injuries and confrontations due to the ignorance of surfing etiquette and lack of respect in the city’s lineups.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

Reyes won his Round 1 heat over nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater, 37, relegating the legend to Round 2, while advancing directly through to Round 3.

“There are some pretty fun waves out there, but our heat was pretty slow,” Reyes said. ”I think Kelly (Slater) needed a 2-something at the end and I just went in. I was exhausted and wasn’t going to chase him around for a 2. He easily could have got it, but he didn’t. The clock wound down and I came away with the win.”

Reyes got off to a slow start in 2009, but is hoping the early round victory will help build some momentum for his season.

Watch video highlights below:

 Click here to view the embedded video.

“I’ve had some pretty close heats this season and things just haven’t gone my way,” Reyes said. ”I was pretty frustrated, especially in Tahiti, and I was almost ready to throw in the towel and sit down for the remainder of the year. After Tahiti, I went and got some waves to myself and cleared my head. My sponsor (of 10 years) O’Neill really stood behind me and I’ve come to Brazil looking for a result. I feel like my surfing is there and if I can start stringing together some results, I’m sure my confidence will return.”

Ward aslo had early round success, advancing directly into Round 3 with a Round 1 heat win over Australian Ben Dunn, 23, and fellow American Damien Hobgood, 29.

“I’ve had a few things not go my way this year and I guess I’m focused on getting a result here,” Ward said. ”I think my surfing definitely suits the waves here. I’ve never surfed it this big probably, but definitely similar conditions. There’re good waves out there once you find them – just a lot of water moving.”

The Orange County surfers will continue their Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro campaigns when competition resumes. For all of the LIVE action log on to www.aspworldtour.com.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

First, there were all the crazy stories about the sea lions learning how to jump on boats (eventually sinking a bunch of them). Now apparently, they’ve learned how to drive the vessels!

Here’s what Hernandez wrote about the event:

The three deputies had just left a Newport Harbor dock after responding to calls of juveniles smoking pot and a young sea lion trying to bite people. They tied up the boat while they checked the dock. The sea lion, which was snapping at people, refused to stay in the water when the deputies tried to shoo it away.

Eventually, the deputies decided to put the sea lion into the fire boat and take it out to sea, where they would try to set it free.

While deputies maneuvered the boat at the main controls, the sea lion took a seat at the foul-weather station, a secondary control station for the boat.

“It ran into the driver’s seat, flapped its flipper, turned the lights on and honked the horn,” Slikker said.

At one point, the sea lion was able to get the throttle to go full speed — in reverse.

Read the full story here, and you gotta check out this video:

Post from: OC Beach Blog

Here’s something I came across that looks pretty useful. 

Now I know it’s summer time, but if you’re going on a surf trip where the water temperature is going to be freezing cold, this is something you just might want to buy.

The Surf-Fur is used for getting into your wetsuit to help keep the body temperature warm and toasty and also for changing out of your wetsuit.  

It looks much like a trenchcoat and is made up of fleece with a 100% wind-proof and water-proof fabric.

The Surf-Fur comes in black or blue and costs $119 for adult sizes and $109 for the groms.  For more info. on this new product, check out surf-fur.com.

Post from: OC Beach Blog