High Surf Advisory for San Diego

Just a heads up for people coming out to La Jolla to photograph pelicans. The surf will be very high, and conditions along the rocks can be very dangerous. Having grown up surfing in the La Jolla area I can attest to the slipperyness of the rocks. I also have seen people swept off the rocks during big winter swells like this. Use caution. When they say the waves are 12 feet that is measured from back of the wave. This means the face can potentially be 24 feet which can easily reach areas you might not expect.

I got this from NOAA:

A LARGE WEST SWELL IS MOVING THROUGH THE COASTAL WATERS. THIS WILL CREATE SURF RANGING BETWEEN 6 AND 10 FEET ON EXPOSED BEACHES. POINT BREAKS AND OUTER REEFS COULD SEE OCCASIONAL SETS OF 12 FEET.
HOWEVER...THE MORE WEST FACING BEACHES SOUTH OF CARLSBAD COULD SEE SURF HEIGHTS RANGING BETWEEN 8 AND 12 FEET...WITH OUTER REEFS AND POINT BREAKS RECEIVING OCCASIONAL SETS TO 15 FEET. THE SURF SHOULD DROP RAPIDLY TONIGHT TO AVERAGE LESS THAN 5 FEET ON WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER LARGE SWELL IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE THURSDAY.

Terrance,
The popular location to shoot at La Jolla is at least 100' above the water, not at water level, so this is a non event unless we have a Tsunami.

If the waves reach the shooting position for the Pelicans, the whole town of La Jollas would be wiped of the face of the Earth. But this is very relevant for shorebird and seal photography on the beaches

Thanks for the heads up. We are headed there on Saturday!

The warning was not necessarily for the pelican spot by the shell shop, but yes I have seen waves at high tide break over the clam; the local name for the pelican spot. Those rocks get really slippery when wet.