Whether you’re into surfing, walking, running or biking out at Ocean Beach, you’ll be interested in a new local website, Ocean Beach – Kelly’s Cove.
Started by west side resident Hugh Bosely, the site offers visitors a real-time, snapshot view of what’s happening at Ocean Beach.
It’s particularly useful for those who surf the waves at Ocean Beach or like to walk, run or bike by the water. The site contains the current weather conditions, tide tables, radar, wind conditions and more.
But seeing is believing when it comes to weather and surfing conditions, so the site’s “Surf Cam” is one of its greatest features. During daylight hours, the front page refreshes a high resolution image every 60 seconds from its camera mounted above the Great Highway near Balboa.
Or jump to the time lapse page and see a full hour’s worth of images in about a minute. Time lapse movies are compiled at the top of every hour, and at the end of the day, a daily composite is made available. Check out the one below from January 6.
Hugh says he started the website because as an avid windsurfer, he was never able to find wind conditions for Kelly’s Cove despite it being one of the most popular places along Ocean Beach to surf. He originally hosted a surf cam on Weather Underground where it received thousands of visitors a month, but decided to move it to its own website so he could publish high resolution images of Ocean Beach’s conditions.
Hugh also owns Full Sphere Studios near Twin Peaks, which provides support services to Bay Area architecture and engineering firms. With the Ocean Beach – Kelly’s Cove website, Hugh also wants to help promote local businesses and foster a sense of community around the beach. To that end, ob-kc.com offers free banner space to Outer Richmond businesses. And be sure to click on the “Flava” tab for a guide to nearby restaurants.
The site is also taking nominations for Edge-of-the-Western-World Ambassadors, or as Hugh describes them, “waterwomen and watermen who have integrated Ocean Beach into their lifestyle including surfers of all kinds, beach walkers / runners, the traction set, fishermen, sun-worshipers, dog clubs and others”. One of his first ambassadors is Sally who gathers up trash three times a week along the beach.
The site will also celebrate the efforts of the SFFD and the Beach Patrol who not only rescue stranded surfers, but also work to raise awareness about elusive rip tides. Watch for the site to also promote beach clean-ups and other pro-beach, pro-conservation efforts.
Hugh says the website has been well-received so far. “I’ve got a lot of positive feedback from the kite and windsurf community, the landlocked near and far including a woman in Tennessee who enjoys watching the ships come and go and Pacific sunsets in real time.”
The next time you’re thinking about a trip to Ocean Beach, check Ocean Beach – Kelly’s Cove to see what’s going on. You can also follow Ocean Beach – Kelly’s Cove on Twitter or Facebook.
Sarah B.
Awesome. I always get good links from your blog!
A real friend of Kelly’s Cove would be more concerned with the lack and needs of public amenities at the northern end of Ocean Beach, not how many people are logging onto the website to check the surf. Also, how does KC-OB.com feel about the public amenities across the street from his surf cam? “View Encroachmentâ€