Places

Morro Bay Harbor

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LANCE KINNEY

Experienced mariners will tell you that the entrance to the Morro Bay Harbor is among one of the most treacherous passages they will make, particularly during bad weather or a large swell. The US Coast Guard ranks it as one of the most dangerous nationally. Originally, Morro Rock was surrounded by water, but the US Army, starting in the late 1800’s, began building the breakwater that you see here using boulders mostly quarried from Morro Rock itself. On some days during the process they would blast the iconic granite plug with as much as 50 tons of dynamite at a time. Recently, during a particularly large swell on a stunning early spring day, Avila-based photographer, Lance Kinney, set up his telephoto lens to capture the images you see here. After each shot, Kinney had to turn away and wipe down his camera which had been peppered by salt water. The waves crashed down with such tremendous force that Kinney shared with us, “I really hope this doesn’t come off as psychobabble because that’s really not my thing, but it really makes you stop and think about how insignificant we are in the scheme of things.” SLO LIFE

On the other side of the jetty, looking back toward Los Osos, Kinney captured this Coast Guard tandem just as they were cresting a wave during their heavy seas training session.

Although he did not realize it while he was shooting, Kinney later found this woman in the photo. Apparently, she had been throwing her arms up in celebration of the awesome display Mother Nature brought that day.