Pebbled

Just a few quick shots to document the large swell today:

 

 

That's about a 10-foot west swell.  In the morning, many of the wave faces had a very interesting texture — like pebbled glass (see below).  The fact that the faces of the waves (as they approached Bodega Head) looked like this provides a clue about the wind speed and direction at the time.  Do you want to guess?  

 

The wind was blowing at about 18 mph (15 knots) from the east.  Because it was basically blowing directly at the waves, it created a dramatic rippled surface.  Even before the waves broke, as in the last picture, you could see small riffles of water being blown back off the tops of waves.