July 2, 2012

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After a dismal June, July shows signs of life in Puerto Escondido for Wave of the Summer

Update: Click here for the photo and video slideshow

Puerto Escondido has been through a lot lately. Even though the Wave of the Summer season hit the ground running with Oscar Moncada nabbing an early entry on June 4th, small surf followed by Hurricane Carlotta made the better part of June memorable for the wrong reasons.

"Much like the first month of 2011-2012 Wave of the Winter comp on the North Shore, the culprit for this slow start is high pressure," explains Surfline's Kevin Wallis. "For big swells to materialize for Puerto Escondido we need large, intense storms, pointed from south to north, that ideally last a few days. Unfortunately, blocking high pressure in the South Pacific has kept us in a very 'zonal' pattern, with most storms pointing all their wind - and swell - from west to east and at the southern end of South America. While there were one or two relatively solid swells at Puerto in June, most of the month was better suited for the guys who like surf in the shoulder-high to a bit overhead range.

"Then in mid-June, Hurricane Carlotta swept over the area, with high wind and heavy rain causing moderate damage to Playa Zicatela."

But, the Mexican Pipeline endures. Thanks to local fundraising efforts, and support from Wave of the Summer presenting sponsor Nike, locals are picking up the piece and rebuilding the lifeguard towers. (Help donate to their cause here.)

"The ocean is finally clean and looking nice and blue," local photographer Edwin Morales says happily. "I hope the coming swell brings life back to Puerto after that hurricane destruction."

Now, as for that coming swell. Surfline's Kevin Wallis reveals:

"The first week of July will see a boost in surf, as a series of straight south swells move in, thanks to consistent storm activity off of South America recently. While these certainly won't be big swells, especially by local standards, conditions look good in the morning and there will be moments that would at least get the average surfer's heart pumping. Going into the long range, things will slow down again through the middle of July, but we should see a pick up for the back half of the month."

So it's not going to be XXL or anything, but plenty of talent is ready and waiting for a second crack at the Wave of the Summer title and $15,000.

"Oscar Moncada came back to the beach and he's ready to charge during the next swell," Morales reveals. "Rusty Long is in town looking for The One. There's also a strong crew from Brazil; and the Aussies are ready to rock and roll."

Check back soon for more entries from July. And view all the current entries here.