Knew the Typhoon was coming, but I had to take a few students from my university down to Izu for a snorkeling trip and hotel reservations were already made. They were going to snorkel Manazuru the first day and Futo the second. I planned to dive and let them snorkel...
Got to Manzuru and it was way big, quite spectacular, really. Obviously had to can the dive and snorkel and went to a "wave protected" sand beach in Atami. It was huge! Waves breaking over the outer cement barriers, and 10 foot swells still slipping through. We had an awesome time in those waves until the beach got closed down. Apparently, there were some deaths at a nearby beach...
We went to the waling bridge near IOP later in the day. By that time, the waves looked near 20 feet. The clifftops and bridge are about 70 feet above the ocean, and water from the waves crashing on the cliffsides was coming up over the bridge. We stayed for over an hour just watching that.
Got a call early this morning telling me that the coastal raods were closed down in at least two places because waves up to 30 feet were breaking over those roads. Had to drive inland to get back north and deliver my liability (students).
First we took the Izu Skyline drive, but had to get off due to near zero visibility (fog) and high winds. Ended up going almost all the way to the west coast to hook up with the Tomei at Numazu. Smooth sailing from there. Only took me 4 hours to get home.
Overall it was a great trip. It was one of those occasions when I had a vivid chance to reappreciate the power of the ocean.
JAG
Got to Manzuru and it was way big, quite spectacular, really. Obviously had to can the dive and snorkel and went to a "wave protected" sand beach in Atami. It was huge! Waves breaking over the outer cement barriers, and 10 foot swells still slipping through. We had an awesome time in those waves until the beach got closed down. Apparently, there were some deaths at a nearby beach...
We went to the waling bridge near IOP later in the day. By that time, the waves looked near 20 feet. The clifftops and bridge are about 70 feet above the ocean, and water from the waves crashing on the cliffsides was coming up over the bridge. We stayed for over an hour just watching that.
Got a call early this morning telling me that the coastal raods were closed down in at least two places because waves up to 30 feet were breaking over those roads. Had to drive inland to get back north and deliver my liability (students).
First we took the Izu Skyline drive, but had to get off due to near zero visibility (fog) and high winds. Ended up going almost all the way to the west coast to hook up with the Tomei at Numazu. Smooth sailing from there. Only took me 4 hours to get home.
Overall it was a great trip. It was one of those occasions when I had a vivid chance to reappreciate the power of the ocean.
JAG
