Swell of 1983
A period of moderate-to-huge winter surf along the American West Coast and Hawaii, lasting roughly from mid-January to mid-March, generated by a chain of El Niño–fortified storms in the North Pacific. "Landmarks fell into the ocean, seawalls came down, porches fell into the surf, trees drifted through the lineup, " North Shore surf photographer and writer Bernie Baker reported. "Beaches completely...
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Swell of 1983: Waimea BaySubscribe to view
Alec Cooke, Swell of 1983, Waimea Bay. Photo: SatoSubscribe to view
Chris Barela, Redondo Breakwater, Swell of 1983. Photo: Steve SakamotoSubscribe to view
Swell of 1983 kingpin Ken Bradshaw. Photo: Bernie BakerSubscribe to view
Seal Beach Pier, Swell of 1983. Photo: Steve SakamotoSubscribe to view
Shaun Tomson, Swell of 1983, RinconSubscribe to view
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/233b156c984b4cfe13d1cf9270b0d8739e2c0bc0-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Swell of 1983: Waimea Bay
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/9f9c77d84b0ab6b32501eea1055e0f54469fb4dc-900x802.jpg?rect=0,219,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Alec Cooke, Swell of 1983, Waimea Bay. Photo: Sato
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/da8a162672dafff6d539c073f1cc8875fe3fbb1d-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Chris Barela, Redondo Breakwater, Swell of 1983. Photo: Steve Sakamoto
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/1a9bf3d7a85293d06704f4a939ebe5fcf7dba746-813x900.jpg?rect=0,0,813,457&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Swell of 1983 kingpin Ken Bradshaw. Photo: Bernie Baker
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/208f4e679eabca0924bfa80c31828014b01c8351-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Seal Beach Pier, Swell of 1983. Photo: Steve Sakamoto
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/3347b927897ecbd940fed5c1187e75d526012905-900x560.jpg?rect=0,54,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Shaun Tomson, Swell of 1983, Rincon