Cornwall. Massive surf of late. Pics

[Graham Easterling]

The long period and lulls in the wind have helped make breaking waves far higher than the open sea swell.

Some great pics on the web, as well as youtube videos, https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/gallery/spectators-gather-watch-surfers-tackle-4954551 is a good link.

But to make it easy, Newquay 1st February.

 

It's been a fair bit bigger in the past, but still the surf of the winter so far. So virtually sand free beaches after that.

Graham

Penzance

[jack.h...@gmail.com]

Impressive.  Thanks. 

In your  bottom picture do I see a crucifix?  Pessimism or insurance policy?

Jack

[Graham Easterling]

I think that's one of crosses you find along the Cornish coastal path, marking a spot where someone has met a tragic end. (Could be wrong). Fishing and getting swept off the rocks is a favourite. In fact most people who drown on the Cornish coast never intended to go in the sea.

This was Porthleven the day before ( 31st January).

We rarely get warnings for big seas, unless it just happens to be blowing a gale at the same time.  The wind strength then stimulates the graphics department to put  a picture of Porthleven behind the forecaster. In practice the biggest breaking wave height is often achieved when it's not that windy. Today it's very windy, so it's all blown out. 

Graham

Penzance

[jack.h...@gmail.com]

That Porthleven surf looks enormous but the camera CAN lie.  What focal length was the lens?  EXIF.

Jack

[Graham Easterling]

Indeed the camera can mislead, it greatly compresses the distance between waves. It is very difficult to tell the height of a wave without something on it, a surfer or small boat for instance.

It's not 1 of my photos, however I know where it was almost certainly taken from, which is about 600 yards from the church tower, with the sea wall immediately beyond.

Another picture of the road along the harbourside when the tide had come in, the same road where the cars are parked in the previous photo. Everybody else had moved their cars! That road is a good 2m above the normal high water Spring tide, the pier can barely been seen, and it wasn't a particularly big tide. It was a decent wave setup surge. You wouldn't think you were inside the harbour.

I remember when I ran a holiday let in Mousehole. One of my visitors was happily photographing his car being sprayed by waves coming over the harbour wall. He refused my advice to move it quick, things were set to get worse. Next morning it was a right off. The roof caved in by the weight of water hitting it, not to mention all the damage from fair sized pebbles.

Graham

Penzance

[jack.h...@gmail.com]

Here's a photo (colourised from original B&W) I took as a 15 year old in 1954.  Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Two foolhardy lads and a foolhardy photographer !!!

Jack