Big Waves Could Entice Surfers Through Saturday

Big waves enticed people to the beach from work and school Wednesday.

Over the next few days and into the weekend, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties will get some of the biggest waves the area has seen in a while.

“Earlier in the week we were waiting for it so everyone is just stoked that it’s here,” Ian Gamblin, a Santa Barbara surfer.

Surfers and paddle boarders were having a field day on the water.

“I’m excited for the next couple days, for sure,” said David Warren-Angelucci, a Santa Barbara City College student.

The nice weather and waves were a perfect opportunity for some father-daughter bonding for Kira and Richard Cope.

“It’s awesome. The waves are peeling really well and the waves are really big,” said Kira Cope, 11, a Santa Barbara surfer.

“There’re actually some waves that are good and fun and we can go to smaller places like Leadbetter here and have a lot of fun,” said her father, Richard.

Come Thursday night, rain will roll in. Gamblin said after a storm, he stays out of the dirty water.

“Like last week, it was pretty chocolate milk,” he said as he described the surf.

That doesn’t scare everyone away.

“After a nice big rain I probably won’t go out because of the pollution and stuff but it all kind of washed out from the last storm so hopefully everything is kind of clean. Nothing is better than surfing in the rain,” said Warren-Angelucci.

For now, it’s not the calm before the storm because everyone on the water wanted to catch some waves while they’re here.