So Im flying out to Califonia for my cousins wedding in mid-august. While we are there my parents are giving me two days (one night) at the beach of my choice, in the L.A. general area. I know nothing about which spots are best this time of yea as i have never been out there before. If anyone has any advice on where it is consistent this time of year it would be greatly appreciated. Also, any information on crowds, hotels, board-rentals (im not paying 400 to fly a board out there for 2 days) would help. Thanks!
helping a fellow VB surfer I have surfed San diego a few times so as far as a break you should proably go to surfline, look up where the cams/spots are and then once you know where you are staying try to get on one of those spots being they will be the most consitent spots normally. Too bad your not going in a week, US Open is at Hunington, that said the entire surf industry will be in LA in August so could be crowded if there is any swell in mid august. THings you have to do 1) bring a sprint suit or short sleeve full suit. Need rubber in Cali even in summer. Right now air is 65* at HB pier and the water is 63*. CHilly bring rubber and some trunks. 2) Bring a leash and leash string. 3) Dont rent a board. Decent board rental for two days might end up being around $100, instead buy a board off craigslist out there or a used board at a shop, tons of people surf out there, you can get a used board that use to be broken and was repaired for like $100, when your done with it, find some grom or a guy down on his luck (plenty of guys like that around LA beaches) and give someone the board give the gift of surf to anohter, feels great to do so. Good luck!
one more thing great tool to use..... if you can get a one month premium mebership at surfline.com, if you do you can download a surf guide for free. Or just buy the guide from the surfline store, which may be cheaper who knows. ANyway it covers alot of the breaks around the each area, North Los Angeles, South LA, north oraange county, sourth orange county, Ventrua, etc... Gives you breaks and detailed info abou the places, etc. Well worth it, gives you a head start also it will help in finding hotels, eats, etc.
I went out to SD two summers ago in early August. The waves are less than par during the summer in Southern California so longboarding is mostly your option unless you get a swell come through. My favorite spot to go was Swami's in Encinitas. This is a well known break and will be crowded when it is packed, but has really nice long rights that are great for longboarding. As for renting a board, when I was out in Swami's I talked to a guy that rented a 9' firewire for $20 for the day. The shop had just opened and I guess they were full of idiots. So you may get lucky. Craigslist is a good option too.
since youre in LA,go check out manhattan beach (el porto is real fun, good parking, lots of peaks) and also head a little bit south becuase you can probably pickup the board rental over at Becker or just head south from manhattan beach there are tons of breaks and surfshops. swamis is real far from LA
Right now im defintiely leaning towards santa montica, seems like itd be alot of fun. hope theres swell!
I would drive down to Newport, or up to Ventura or something. LA county gets missed by a lot of swells. especially santa monica and venice. There is all kinds of island blockage and angle problems in LA county. The surf has been decent so far this whole summer. Mid august could have some really small days, but there is some decent swell at least a few days a week. Its a crapshoot if you are only in town a couple days.
you can go to any big surf shop there and demo a board of your choice. so you can try any of the latest models/ i remember i paid 25 for the day when i demoed a board from surf ride in ocean side. dont buy anything on craigslist. cus if you want you can even use this money towards a new board. and as far as surfing spot go to HB pier, Ventura, Malibu, or just drive down PCH and you can pick which ever spot you wish to surf...just dont make the right coast look bad!
