Big Wave Challenge
Photos by Steve Gaffney (SteveGaffney.com)
by Kevin Cody
The South Bay Boardriders Big Wave Challenge for the largest wave ridden in the 2023-24 winter season had plenty of worthy entries. Photographer Steve Gaffney’s photos from the last week in December are among the contenders.

Noah Collins at the Redondo Breakwall on Thursday, December 28, 2023.
The swell invited comparison to the swells that flooded the Hermosa Strand in 1983; blew a hole in the Redondo Breakwall, and blew out the windows of the Portofino Hotel in 1988; and breached the breakwall again in January of 2023, destroying the King Harbor Yacht Club’s docks, and parking lot.

Mira Costa High team rider Johnny Herrouin at Grand Street on Sunday, December 31, 2023.

Backwash at the El Segundo Jetty on Thursday, December 28, 2023.

Los Angeles County Lifeguard Shane Gallas at Hammerland on Sunday, December 31, 2023.

Los Angeles County Lifeguards Beck Adler, Alex Fry, Matt Mohagen and Shane Gallas at Hammerland on Saturday, December 30, 2023.