Visiting San Diego

First you'll need some tire repairs kits for when your tires get slashed at evey spot you go to . Then you'll need medical insurance after some aggro SoCal dudes beat you or run you over on their boards. Then you'll need a 9mm for protection and a .45 if your trying to Zimmerman someone. Make sure to bring burritos to pay off the cholos and essays if they try to hassle you. Don't forget to bring a vans flat bill hat and a billabong shirt to show you mean business.

 

all bodyboarding jokes aside....

In June, SD waters could still be a little cool (maybe mid-to-high 60's), so depending on your tolerance, a 2mm top or light spring suit will fit the bill. Since you're looking for a "slab", I'm assuming that you already have swimfins and a lid.

Go to Marine Street in La Jolla, you'll be more than welcome there. There are a couple of slabs nearby that have the occasional bodyboarder or 3, but you may wind up at the end of the line when the sets come through.

 

Yeah, that stretch of beach and a little north is your only chance for "slabs" and a non-threatening bodyboarding lineup situation. Sometimes. Other than that, drive up to the wedge for a day. It'll take you about an hour and a half. Not a slab, but plenty big and you will be welcomed there with open arms.

 

Stay Here they're great I wen't there a while back and its great. Right on Mission Bay and close to the beach:http://www.catamaranresort.com/

 

I'm assuming you're going to orientation for school? If so what school?

 

go north and go to salt creek. last time i was there it was 75% body boarders. it was heavy and grinding in about a foot of water. almost made me wanna bodyboard......almost

 

The "anger" is a bit overplayed on this site. Only trying to guide you in on the proper bodyboarding breaks....paddling a bodyboard into pretty much any California break with surfboards in the lineup is an invitation to get cut off on almost every wave (at best), and verbal barrages are common.

If you absolutely feel the need to paddle out at Blacks or So. Mission, I'd suggest finding a peak away from the pack. Otherwise, you might have better luck at LJ Shores or Scripps (and that's a pretty big "maybe").

Come to think of it, Imperial Beach (near the Mex border) is about the most sponger-friendly break next to Marine Street, and it has plenty of juice and is consistent. But again, the peaks that contain fiberglass and foam will not be very welcoming and your wave count will most likely be nil.

There is no way you will ever get a wave at the Cliffs.

 

I'll put it to you like this. The first couple weeks you are at UCSD, just watch.... Go to scripps, sit there and watch. Then spend an afternoon at Blacks and watch.... Go down to these "Slabs" in La Jolla and watch... If you go there and "suss" out what is going on at all the breaks, I am pretty sure you will answer you own question.... If after a few weeks of watching stand up surfers ride all those waves at all those spots, you don't feel the need to go invest in a surfboard and start learning to surf, then you will know what to do... Keep with the boogie board and have fun....

I am not saying you will feel one way or the other, but I can't imagine someone sitting there watching all those standup surf lines for weeks, and not get stoked to want to go try to stand....

Not saying anything one way or the other... But just go there, and observe. You will know what to do after that... Don't take my word for it about the SoCal/boogie board thing. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but go out there with an open mind, check things out for yourself, and you will very quickly know where you are welcome, where you are not welcome and I am just saying, you will know what to do. And if that is laying down, then thats what it is, and you are doing the right thing. I just couldn't imagine having a handful of World Class breaks within a mile in each direction, spending 4 years there, and not wanting to pick up stand up surfing while Im out there. You can accomplish a LOT, if you stay dedicated in the water out there for 4 years. Especially because the school years lies smack in the most consistent 3 seasons out there.

I am just saying, again, don't take my word for it, or anyone who is saying the same thing, but if you spend a few weeks observing the waves all around your new school, and you never see any boogie boards in the lineup, where the waves are actually breaking, you will probably make your own evaluations. Not saying you don't ever want to "go against the grain"... Observation won't lie. Second hand information is exactly that. See it with your own eyes, and challenge yourself. Sometimes trying something new is the way to go, even if its not the easy way out.

 

There are plenty of breaks in SD that you can bodyboard...pretty much at the end of any street in Mission or Pacific Beach. It's wide open and the peaks are all similar for miles, which allow you to pick a peak without having to paddle out with the fiberglass crew.

In summertime, they even flag areas as swimming and bodyboarding only...no surfers allowed.

If you want to bodyboard, then go get wet. If you want to learn how to surf, then do so. The plain and simple fact is that the best breaks have zero bodyboarders.

I guess it's a little different than the East Coast? I've seen bodyboarders at places like IRI (when it actually broke) and OCMD, but I don't remember any bodyboarders getting waves at the Star Bar when it was firing. I can't imagine that if the 'Squan was firing (never surfed there, myself) that the locals would give any bodyboarders their turn at the peak, or a pack of bodyboarders waiting their turn at Rye (which I've also never surfed).

Maybe I'm wrong. If so, be gentle and tell me otherwise.