What once was optimism based on a brewing El Niño in the Fall has now been replaced by the melancholy of the reality that the 2006/2007 surf season is reaching its end with no swell in sight.  For the first time in 8 years the Maverick's Contest has been cancelled due to lack of surf.  The warm water anomoly that usually translates into epic ocean conditions for West Coast surfers appears to have flipped into a cold water event -- La Niña.  Take a look at the most recent SST anomoly chart from NOAA.



The band of dark blue along the equator represents water temperatures that are several degrees colder than normal...  What is strange, though, is the large body of hot water in the Southern Ocean, the birthplace of storms that create the sometimes epic South Swells of Summer.  Too bad we have the Channel Islands just off our coast.  Island blockage invariably means travelling during the Summer months for Santa Barbara surfers...