With the storms that hit California in early January came some big waves. We went down to Dockweiler Beach to look at them. It was a beautiful day, with the air washed clean by the rain, the Sun out and the temperature comfortable. We parked at the parking lot where the Dockweiler Youth Center is located. While this isn’t the most scenic beach, we did get a good look at the waves.

Here is a nice set of waves breaking with the oil tankers serving the Chevron refinery behind them. There was a nice offshore breeze that opened up the front of the waves and blew the spray over the top.

The view up the coast was pretty too.

It isn’t easy to capture waves with my RX-100. I think it calls for a longer lens to do it right. Nonetheless, I think this shot does capture some of the scale of the waves that day.

The outflow from the Hyperion Treatment Plant was right where we parked. The large pipe going out into the ocean created a nice peak and the waves broke nicely around it. There were a couple of surfers who were taking advantage of the peak and we saw some good rides. I didn’t get any of them surfing (I was too lazy) but I did get some video of them heading out through the breakers. You get a good feeling for the size of the waves.