Captain’s Log: Large Swells Make Island Blowholes Roar

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By Capt. David Bacon, Noozhawk Columnist

It's a sight to behold when nature’s eruptive forces are unleashed

Imagine a whoosh of water and air — twice the size of a blue whale “spout” — horizontal and aimed right at you! Now combine that with a sudden roar as loud as a major waterfall. That’s what an island blowhole is like when we have massive swells pounding the rugged north shore of Santa Cruz Island as we did this week.

That cliff-dominated shoreline features hundreds of small sea caves and crevices that quickly fill with water and then overfill, creating intense pressure from trapped air and the force of a powerful open-ocean swell pounding the cliffs.

That’s when nature’s eruptive forces are unleashed, expelling (like exhaling) vast quantities of atomized air and water that look to me like a gigantic pressurized water cannon. Sometimes, too, a glorious rainbow will briefly form, mutate through a range of shapes and color bands, then dissipate just as quickly.

These phenomena are a sight to behold and to remember. You’ll be telling the story for years to come.

A casual cruise along the face of the cliffs at Santa Cruz Island can suddenly be interrupted by huge horizontal spouts whenever a set of swells sweeps through. I’ve seen blowhole spouts spray 100 feet and douse everyone aboard. It can be a scary moment, but it nearly always results in hysterical laughter — followed by much toweling off.

It’s difficult to predict exactly where blowholes will spout because different sea caves and crevasses are positioned just right with changes in tide and swell size. Given a high enough tide and big enough swells, maybe even Painted Cave could become a blowhole of epic proportions.

The best chances of seeing an active blowhole can be found from the west end eastward to roughly Twin Harbors. Once a good one is spotted, it’s likely to blow again and again until the tide or the size of the swells changes.

Ready for an adventure? Go find an island blowhole.

— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help.

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