We are entering into what I call the beachwalker’s paradise time of year. We have not yet endured our first large storm system of the year, replete with huge powerful swells, but there are storm systems in store for us over the coming months.
These coming storms prepare our coastline for great beachwalks. Here we live along a naturally beautiful coastline with lovely beaches, where weather systems deposit fascinating gifts from the sea in the path of our walks.
To plan a beachwalk, first check the weather to be sure it’s not going to be too windy or wet. Then consult a tide table, to time the walk around low tide. This is an important step in the planning process. Low tide is when the widest expanse of beach is exposed above water.
At high tide, walking around rocky points can become challenging, because the waves may be breaking right onto the rocks. Low tide is when traversing rocky points is easiest.
Wave action deposits the greatest amount of sea treasures during the high tide period. Then the water recedes during low tide, leaving the treasures high on the beach and easy to explore. It never ceases to intrigue me, what finds its way into the sea and then onto our beaches.
My personal favorite time to explore the beaches is during the two days immediately after a large storm with high waves. The beach booty during these times is simply amazing because those big swells scour the nearshore seascape and then wash everything up onto the beach.
Driftwood stacks up along the beach. Some of it comes from our local canyons, but some comes from much farther along the coast and drifts along in the southward flowing California Current until making landfall.
Driftwood formations can be fascinating and intriguing. Over the years, I have made some inspiring planters and furniture out of interesting driftwood pieces.
Other beach booty includes kelp holdfasts, where small crustaceans and other interesting life forms are trapped. These holdfasts can be searched for small shells, which make nice necklaces or bracelets. Be warned however, that you must endure swarms of small insects around those decaying holdfasts.
Larger crustaceans and shellfish have life cycles, which result in abandoned shells, and winter-like storms will deposit a rich variety of these shells onto the beaches.
I’ll always remember one day while surf fishing up at Jalama Beach. A large swell came in, and I stood my ground against it. When the wave washed back out, I looked down and there was an 8-inch abalone shell lying between my feet, where the wave had left it for me.
Just as I bent down to get it, a large surf perch bit my bait. It was an awkward moment, but I ended up carrying my perch up the beach in my abalone shell and feeling very proud of myself.
We could keep abalone shells back then. That may be a rare occurrence, but other types of empty shells are more common, and include some gorgeous specimens like conch and various sea snails.
This is the best beach-walking time of year. Do your planning carefully by looking up the weather and tide tables. Then go out and spend a few hours being a beach-combing kid again. It will help you appreciate why we live here.
— 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. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
