Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - View Single Post - Planing my first trip to La Jolla this weekend

stairman · 05-11-2011, 04:49 PM

If you want to launch in the dark it is important,if the waves are big or short period, to understand how sets form.Sets being the large waves that periodically come in that are substantially bigger then the average.Lauching into the first of a large set can ruin the trip for you.
Waves rarely ever consist of one group of swells.Most often the waves are the result of two or more different height and wave speeds coming together to either cancel each other out,or build each other up.
If you have three two foot swells each ariving at the beach at different intervals here is what happens,
When the swells arive at ever so slightly different times you have a series of tiny waves closely packed and that is a good time to paddle out.
When the swells are timed so the peaks occur at the same time they amplify the height of the waves...or a set of big waves...a bad time to paddle out through the bigger waves.The concept is called constructive and destructive interference.The constructive part is what you want to aviod.
If it is dark and you cant see whats happening you need to wade out to knee deep water(of course not when the waves are tiny...then just go)and just stand there and watch what is happening.Ten minutes will give you an clue as to when to go.As you stand there and the waves keep getting bigger passing you in the knee deep water that is the remnents of a set.Wait for the next one to come and get on the yak while the biggest of the knee deep swells are hitting and paddle out.This willput you in the breaker zone just after the last of the big set goes through giving you the time to get passed the breaker zone before the next set comes through....most of the time...lol.
Face it if you are gonna launch before light you might get pounded before getting passed the breaker zone.Lj is one of the smallest wave areas in san diego,anything two foot or less is a cake walk.Three or four foot is very doable depending on swell direction.nw swells being the toughest.South to sw swells are deminished as they wrap aroup punta la jolla and into the shores.

05-11-2011, 04:49 PM	#18
stairman Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 84	how sets form If you want to launch in the dark it is important,if the waves are big or short period, to understand how sets form.Sets being the large waves that periodically come in that are substantially bigger then the average.Lauching into the first of a large set can ruin the trip for you. Waves rarely ever consist of one group of swells.Most often the waves are the result of two or more different height and wave speeds coming together to either cancel each other out,or build each other up. If you have three two foot swells each ariving at the beach at different intervals here is what happens, When the swells arive at ever so slightly different times you have a series of tiny waves closely packed and that is a good time to paddle out. When the swells are timed so the peaks occur at the same time they amplify the height of the waves...or a set of big waves...a bad time to paddle out through the bigger waves.The concept is called constructive and destructive interference.The constructive part is what you want to aviod. If it is dark and you cant see whats happening you need to wade out to knee deep water(of course not when the waves are tiny...then just go)and just stand there and watch what is happening.Ten minutes will give you an clue as to when to go.As you stand there and the waves keep getting bigger passing you in the knee deep water that is the remnents of a set.Wait for the next one to come and get on the yak while the biggest of the knee deep swells are hitting and paddle out.This willput you in the breaker zone just after the last of the big set goes through giving you the time to get passed the breaker zone before the next set comes through....most of the time...lol. Face it if you are gonna launch before light you might get pounded before getting passed the breaker zone.Lj is one of the smallest wave areas in san diego,anything two foot or less is a cake walk.Three or four foot is very doable depending on swell direction.nw swells being the toughest.South to sw swells are deminished as they wrap aroup punta la jolla and into the shores.