Waves Crash Through Wharf Restaurant
The waves in Santa Barbara were doing damage and causing a big mess and the water didn’t spare people inside a restaurant Saturday morning.
“Here comes another one!” said Jill Freeland as she caught the wave on cell phone video.
A wave crashed through windows at Moby Dick restaurant on Stearns Wharf sending diners running for the doors.
The waves were also crashing high and hard at the breakwater, forcing Harbor Patrol to close the popular walkway.
“We have a high surf advisory right now with our high tide at 9:15 this morning, at over 6 foot, combined with estimated swell up to 12 feet causes some pretty dangerous conditions,” said Eric Engebretson, with the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol.
Rain and waves kicked up sand and water into parking lots, flooding some areas. But it didn’t scare people away from checking out the damage.
“What we are seeing here is what I call is the perfect storm. We’ve got high tides, huge surf and a lot of rain. And what that creates is a lot of havoc and destruction along the coast side,” said John Ledbetter.
After a dry start to the year, the storm enticed people to the beach.
“I’m just at the harbor checking the waves out. There’s a surf spot out here that doesn’t break very often so whenever a big storm comes in every body’s coming to check out the waves,” said Ted Tambakis, a Santa Barbara resident.
The yacht club at the harbor was spared of damage thanks to a sand birm. But the water and seaweed did threaten the building because of the relentless waves.
