Monday, August 31, 2009

Typhoon Krovanh

Had a good catch up with mum yesterday on skype and she gave me the run down on her travel experiences in Oman and Europe. It sounds like she had a blast and met some really nice people. After that it was straight to the beach!!

We have typhoon number 11 upon us today. It is making a straight B-line for Chiba where it is expected to make landfall. As a result, I guess we'll be bearing the brunt of it. It's then forecast to turn 90 degrees north and follow the coast north up to Hokkaido before heading back out to sea and weakening.

For those in the know, we usually experience some pretty good quality waves in the day leading up to the typhoon passing us and immediately after. Yesterday was no exception!! Local pro and top Japanese surfer, Naohisa Ogawa, was ripping Maruki's left point break to bits. He was even enjoying taking off switchfoot on a few and smashing the lip!! (Sorry, no pics. Too amping to hit the water myself)

I managed to snare a few off the crowd before the tide started playing tricks as it filled in causing some backwash and inconsistency. Still, stoked to get a few great waves under the belt.

Today, however, is a different story. Here's something Dave posted on his blog;

Channel 4 news LIVE from KAMOGAWA! Surf 6-8 meters. (face height of 20-25 feet)
I went down just to take a look and it was pretty macking surf breaking way outside. The beach houses will be well pleased that they dismantled their huts during the week. I imagine on a high tide later this afternoon when the storm is expected to peak there could well be some erosion to the beach. Until tomorrow, we'll be staying inside and praying for good banks and manageable waves so that I can sneak in a surf before work tomorrow.

Here are a couple of pics from todayAbove: Can you see the concrete tetrapods on the far right on the inside? That's where the waves usually break.
Below: A BIG right peak breaking in front of the Maruki point car park...maybe tomorrow????