When rumors of the Eddie contest running circulate in early December, and the contest directors up at Mav's are already passing up swells in late November, you know somethin' funny is going on. I don't want to jinx it, but it doesn't look like this is going to be our run-of-the-mill winter.

After a lot of prognosticating about El Nino being real this winter, we may get a better feel for the storm engine this weekend, as the second big swell in as many weeks works its way across the North Pacific, with both the West Coast and Hawaii bracing for some carnage.

Conditions turned epic late Wednesday over on the North Shore, where the O'Neill World Cup was hoping to run. But unfortunately for organizers it was flat all morning. They put the contest on hold for several hours, hoping for the swell to arrive, but nothing...then, minutes after they packed up and went home the sets started poring through. Sunset was epic by day's end. The fear now is it could be out of control by tomorrow, just in time for the opening ceremonies of The Eddie at Waimea Bay.

Meanwhile, when the waves reach California's coast there's a good chance they'll be accompanied by weather. Forecasters are predicting some rainfall to be mixed with the swell, which usually means a hint of South Wind, so the secret will be to find those spots that do well in the familiar plague.

Either way, with back to back swells in place the El Nino storm engine seems to be warming up. With that in mind, now is as good a time as any to take an inventory report on your readiness status. El Nino storms do get ugly...but when the clouds break there are some truly magic moments to be had. For that reason alone, you best get your boards, wetsuits and leashes ready before you do your Christmas shopping, because considering how much work you're likely to miss this year, there's a good chance you'll be unemployed by February. And if that's the case you'll want to make sure you're armed and ready.