As the arrival of Hurricane Marie 2.0 was heralded through parking lots, text messages, and social media feeds of countless surfers, the question became, where will it be best?
Aside from the obvious south swell magnets, like Malibu and Newport Point, the coast was set to come to life in a way that doesn’t happen very often. The fact that it landed on a long Labor Day Weekend certainly helped more people have a chance at getting in the water, for good or ill.
If you were based in Southern California and wanted to score solid surf but didn’t want to amongst a huge crowd, you’re best bet would have been to hightail it out of the country. But, if you were a photographer, getting to the hotspots would be a unique opportunity to capture the good, the bad, and everything in between.
Dom Stone @domwstone
North County San Diego had its moments but to really see the full force of the swell, photographer Dom Stone packed up his Subaru and set off for points north. On Saturday, September 5, he posted up on the sand at Newport and let his Fujifilm 400m lens feast on the nonstop barrel fest until his batteries were dead and his cards were full.
Dom Stone @domwstone
Newport Point did its best impression of Pipeline and brought all the heavies out to play and try their hand at navigating the relentless current, fierce crowd, and fast-moving-and-thick-lipped pits. Nearby, The Wedge offered its own version of a gladiator pit, where paddling out carried an extremely high risk of getting rag-dolled. On a swell like Marie, not many can enter the water and walk out with their head held high and their orifices free of sand.
Dom Stone @domwstone
On Sunday into Monday, like hundreds of others, Dom Stone was in Malibu. When it came time to swim, he set out to capture a unique angles of California’s most surfed wave. He and San Diego stylist Sean Keany linked up for a surreal bottom turn image on a set wave. As Sean went out into the flats, Dom was high up in the lip and captured a soulful pose that masks the size of the six-foot wave. Big wave or not, with Sean’s arm up high, and the Adamson House in the background, the image is classic.
Dom Stone @domwstone
When he wasn’t wearing a helmet and dodging death-by-log in the water (see reel below for context), he posted up on the eroding beach with his tripod and fired away at legends like Joel Tudor, Caity Simmers, Steph Gilmore, and countless others.
Dom Stone @domwstone
For more of Dom’s coverage, head to his Instagram page and check his Hurricane Marie highlight reel for clips, carnage, and more.
Related: Hurricane Marie 2026 vs. 2014: Which Swell Was Actually Better?