Half Moon Bay swells pounding boats as surfers ride waves

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KGO) -- On the way out aboard the Queen of Hearts, we got a taste of why the boats couldn't go out on Monday.

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Big swells in the Channel rocked our boat, sending one little boy flying. He and his brother asked Santa to see the big waves.

The first wave we saw was a 20' face. Then came Long lulls between sets, and suddenly, the pack of surfers scrambled-- lining up to see who is going to go.

One boat had a close call, getting rocked by a big wave.

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As the day wore on, the tide dropped-- the waves getting bigger, throwing out over the shallow reef.