Carlotta's Wake

Carlotta's Wake


Carlotta's Wake | SURFER Magazine
After a devastating hurricane, Puerto Escondido lifeguards begin to rebuild. ... Agua Pesada. Heavy tubes and shallow sandbars in Puerto Escondido....more ...
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“Here is local surfer Oscar Moncada getting the best wave of the day a couple of weeks before the hurricane hit Playa Zicatela and ravaged the entire area,” says Morales. Photo: Morales

“Here the local Lifeguards are assessing the damage done by the storm,” says Morales. “They were debating over what was still usable to rebuild from the wreckage.” Photo: Morales

“Jose Ramirez was one of the first lifeguards in Puerto,” says Glaser. “Jose, along with the rest of the area’s lifeguards, has been responsible for hundreds if not thousands of lives saved in the heaving beachbreaks.” Photo: Glaser

“From 2-foot to 20-foot, Puerto Escondido is as good as it gets as far as beachbreaks go,” says Glaser. “The unique combination of underwater canyons, exposure to large storm systems, and frequent strong offshores in the early morning have earned this stretch the apt title of ‘The Mexican Pipeline’.” Photo: Glaser

“This is how the main tower used to look like before Carlotta,” says Morales. “Nowadays this tower is just a pile of smashed wood in the sand.” Photo: Morales

“The water was so dirty the day after the storm,” says Morales. “The churned water in the left-hander makes it look more like a river mouth than a beachbreak. On the right you see one of the recently destroyed guard towers.” Photo: Morales

“Lifeguards have been a huge support to all surfers and swimmers visiting from all over the world,” says Morales. “David Langer broke his ankle in 2011 and he was helped right away by the boys at the beach.” Photo: Morales

“Before the storm hit, you could see nearly all of the guard towers on the beach from this angle,” says Morales. “Now there’s not a single one standing and people were working in shifts to clean up the beach.” Photo: Morales

As a combination of national pride and offshore wind indicator, the local lifeguards fly the Mexican flag from the tower. Photo: Morales

“Trees were blown over and sent out to the ocean during the high winds and heavy downpour,” says Morales. “It wasn’t long before the swell pushed everything right back to shore.” Photo: Morales

Volunteer reconstruction project MAZUNTE

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Volunteer reconstruction project

The next step: Mazunte, Emiliano, is setting up a project for volunteers to help reconstruct the houses that fell, are without roof - so everyone is welcome to join the construction team and get a free construction workshop out of it! As soon as I know the exact dates I will post them here!

El próximo paso: Mazunte, Emiliano, está preparando un "taller de reconstrucción", un equipo de voluntarios que van a reconstruir las casas destruídas así que todos están bien invitados a apuntarse! Cuando se saben las fechas les publico aquí!

Photos from the first few days

A few more Pics so everyone gets an idea how shocked people looked who came back after the hurricane not recognizing Mazunte anymore...

Recobra la vida Puerto Escondido

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.

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