Around The World In 80 Waves

The Wedge is a famous break at the east end of the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, which can produce huge waves up to 30 feet high. Sadly when I get there to check it out it isn’t breaking mostly because the current swell is coming from the north and it needs a southerly swell to work best.

The waves are a result of a rock jetty on the west side of the Newport Harbor entrance built during the 1930s. When a wave approaches the shore at the proper angle it reflects off the jetty creating a second wave. The reflected wave meets up with the following wave of the set and forms a peak. The combined effect of the reflected wave and the incoming wave creates a combined wave much larger than either of the two separate waves and occurs very rapidly and forms waves in a very unpredictable pattern, so that no two waves are alike and the exact breaking point is difficult to predict. Huge air drops, broken boards and broken bones are very common so I’m a little disappointed no to see it crashing in. However this link should give you some idea of what it is like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2a9wsmKUjo