You can’t fix stupid. And anyone that thought it was a good idea to stroll out on a jetty in Southern California over the last few days had another thing coming. From L.A. to Newport, the size and power of the tropical swell from Hurricane Marie hammered jetties up and down the coast like a wrecking ball.
For some inexplicable reason, a handful of fishermen decided it was a good idea to try their luck, both literally and figuratively, at the end of the Newport Harbor Jetty. Video from photographer and videographer Brent Weldon shows a number of people fishing at the end of the jetty when a massive wave smashes into it. It’s hard to tell from the footage, but everyone appears to have survived the ordeal — or at least no fatalities have been reported in the area since the video was posted on various social media channels.
There’s proper signage warning people not to go out on the jetty during high surf events, but those were clearly ignored. And it wasn’t like this is a rogue wave situation where it was flat and all of a sudden a big wave showed up out of nowhere. Swell from Hurricane Marie had been battering the coast for days by the time this incident occurred. In my 40-plus years of surfing, it’s hands down one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. The fishermen are so lucky to have survived.
“No fish is worth risking your life for. Please respect the closures, listen to the lifeguards, and never underestimate the ocean,” shared Weldon on Facebook.
Big ups to Weldon for capturing and sharing this footage. Behind the lens for the last decade, the man’s a talented still photographer and videographer. Most recently, he released the film “The Wedge: The Movie — A Story of Risk, Sacrifice, and Community.” If you haven’t checked it out, it’s endlessly entertaining and showcases the good, the bad, and the ugly of the modern Wedge scene.
Related: Hurricane Marie Swell Unearths a Piece of Wedge History (Video)
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