Photos: Tsunami at Princeton and Mavericks

I hiked across the bluff above Moss Beach over to Ross’ Cove to have a view of the harbor.  While the forecast was for a 3 ft. tsunami, I know that we don’t have a lot of data on the subject, so I wanted to make sure I was at high enough elevation in case a 10 footer came in.  After the first couple of surges, I realized that it was about as forecasted, so I hoofed it around to the bluff above Mavericks Beach to get a better sun angle on the harbor entrance. 

The first 3 surges were very dramatic, with a river of water flowing in and out of the harbor entrance.  Timing was about 7 minutes from high to low.  Subsequent surges were smaller (about 2-3 ft of water change), but the period was much shorter.  In the photos of the surfer at Mav’s Beach, there was only about 45 seconds between high and low water.

There were several surfers out at Mavericks that morning.  While the waves were rather small and slow by Mav’s standards, the guys who were out had quite the experience.  I spoke to one of them when he came in.  He indicated that during the first several surges, the ocean water moved significantly, and they had a hard time holding position because the currents were so strong.

Brian Lynch