They close out if you aint' on the point or next to the pier. Rent a car and go to La jolla shores, way better than pb, and 10 minutes up the road.
Crowded is right, small is likely unless you get some kind of decent S-swell, but on the bright side you prob will not have to wear a wetsuit. PB is filled with lots of college-aged hotties so if the waves are not good at least you can have side games. Check the jetties that are around throughout PB, MB, and OB. If there are 0 waves you can always go to the Wave House in Mission Beach.
I went there in the fall because it was cheap to get a place right on the beach. We surfed there, plus Tourmalines up the road, but also headed north to Wind and Sea, Blacks, and Luecadia, San O. Good trip. From there you have options. Decent board rentals too, not just NSP or Bics.
Yeah, rentals are actually the way to go around there. I took mine on one trip to that area and ended up renting them 2 other times. Personal preference I suppose.
if you wake up early, pb isnt really crowded at all. Its about mid morning when all the people show up at the beach. As far as size, august is the worst moth of the year, but on the bright side, it never goes flat for more than a day or 2, even in august. You will no doubt have surf at least 3 days out of your week. You can longboard when its flat... If you have a car and its good, go to la jolla and surf somewhere good. Go early, it will be crowded.... But the pier and tourmo are always crowded, but there are surf zones all up and down north mission and pb and i have surfed there with a little crowds all the time. Remember most tourista surfers go to good named spots to surf them while they are here. Most of the people surfing in south PB will be on foam boards and cant even stand up. There will be no one else even getting waves in most spots you will notice... But if you go to blacks in august, good luck! San Diego has 80 miles of beaches and it all breaks. There are tons of places with zero crowds even in august. You just have to know where to look. keep an open mind and look at google maps.
PB sucks. Know what you're doing if you surf South Mission jetties or Windnsea. La Jolla shores is probably a good option, or OB.
