You gotta hit up Santa Cruz, and Fort Point is a world class wave experience, but crowded and kinda localized.
Take Highway 1 as much as you can. Then you can just stop when it looks good.
You gotta hit up Santa Cruz, and Fort Point is a world class wave experience, but crowded and kinda localized.
Take Highway 1 as much as you can. Then you can just stop when it looks good.
Thanks for the help everyone. I've been researching and there are so many spots to choose from and I can't visit them all so I'm trying to be smart about the spots I can check out. What's the shark situation in norcal?? Should I be worried about em?
This is one spot that you cannot miss. Rincon Point in Santa Barbara will be the highlight of your trip. Make sure if your on a shortboard to hit the top of the point passed the rivermouth. You'll know if it's good when your dodging longboarder's about 150 yards down the line, and if it's real good you won't know until you wash up on the highway.Originally Posted by Shakagrom
They're out there and plenty of people see 'em, but just don't go tie a bunch of fresh tuna to your leash and flop around like wounded seal and you'll be good. Just keep a sharp eye out and you should be fine. And if you're feeling sketched out, paddle in a bit.
I would say slam8llc said it pretty well. I grew up in Huntington, and was in a contest in C Street in Ventura a couple months ago. You should go ahead and check Malibu, and Rincon, just for the shear historical value in my opinion. Rincon is Curren's historical home also.
Steamers is good when it's on, but trying to surf it on the weekend could get you hurt. I have never in my life seen such a huge crowd!!! To get a normal wave, you will have to drop in on someone, and you will get dropped in on several times if you make the wave on the weekends. This is personal experience. If your in decent shape, try Ocean Beach in San Fran. Gets big, and consistant. Hard to get out, and a current from water going into, and out of the bay. You should also check Fort Point, under the Golden Gate Bridge. I haven't surfed it, but plan on it, what a trip.
As for sharks, yes, your in the "Red Triangle." White shark breeding grounds. You have to say screw it and go out. just don't go out alone, and river mouths would be the most dangerous areas. But there are very few attacks per number of people surfing.
Hope this helps.
When I surfed fort point, some locals told me that i had a better chance of being killed by someone jumping off the bridge to commit suicide than a white shark.
Your probably right Pumper, Ft. Point is inside the Bay a bit. If someone surfs the ocean, creeks like Waddels, and others, I won't mention for fear of serious bodily injury risk from the locals, are more dangerous than surfing a regular reef or beach break without a rivermouth. Sharks hang out in the rivermouths in northern Cali. because they know the salmon, and other fish swim there, and dead stuff flows out of the creeks after storms.
And they'll know he's a LIAR in the first two minutes... Steamer's is a VERY LOCALIZED, CROWDED SPOT, so don't expect to just climb down the cliff annd catch any wave you want...
While in the Santa Cruz area, try Capitola, Manresa, maybe Pleasure Point (although it gets very crowded as well). Heck, look at Cowell's Beach as well...
The last time I was out there in Santa Cruz, I had an AMAZING session at Manresa, probably caught the longest left of my life...
I recently read an article in The Surfer's Path about great whites. There was an incident at Manresa Beach. Apparently, on a crowded weekend, a seal pup was trying to get away from a whitey, doing a mad dash for the beach, when the shark jumped COMPLETELY out of the water and bit the pup in half!! Can you imagine witnessing this on the beach???
Yea, I wasn't planning on paddling out at Steamer's because I know how localized and crowded it is. Also, I haven't traveled much so I haven't been able to surf any reef yet. I'm thinking of sticking to the beach and point breaks in the area if I can.
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