Surfing in Northern California

by Bill Doyle

Ahh, summer time. Warm sun, warm sand, and warm water. Driving down the coast looking for surf. Window down and the breeze blowing in your face. How I love it. Early morning sessions and evening glass. Getting covered up or pulling that big floater. Just digging it!

With summer here some of you are bound to have surfing on your mind and whether you’re a salty vet, or a fledgling newbie sometimes you don’t always know the best spots. So in order to help you along your way, save you from some potential embarrassment/beatings/long wasted drives and to keep you from annoying me, every few days, weeks, whatever, I’ll give a new spot and the 411 about it. I’ll also try and give some general etiquette that applies at every beach.

Now, I’m not claiming I know it all or that I’m some ruler out in the water but I grew up on the coast and will try to do it justice. So load up your ride, grab your stick and let’s go!

Ps: Sorry for not getting this out earlier, but it didn’t feel like summer until just recently.

Spot #1: Ocean Beach-From anywhere in the city, go west to Hwy 1 and you’ll get there. Ocean beach starts up by the cliff house and runs down a couple miles south. Due to my extreme aversion to long paddles I don’t surf here much, but I have had some good days. This beach has numerous breaks and usually plenty of parking. This is not a beginner’s beach and people do drown here on occasion. Shifty peaks and vicious rip tides can be a hazard to experienced surfers, let alone a newly converted follower. However, when it’s good, it’s on. If you’re new to the game, or just not sure of yourself, try to avoid paddling out to spots between the parking lots where most of the locals go or to the most crowded peak. Contain yourself within plain view of gawking tourists and pale sunbathers with phones who can call 911 if need be. Try to avoid parking next to convertibles with pitbulls chained inside. Also, remember that it’s always bigger than it looks in the parking lot. If the surfs down, or you’re looking for some breakfast try going North on 1 up to the Seal Rock Inn. Great food for pretty reasonable prices with a good view to boot (also if you like Hunter S. Thompson, this is where he holed up in a drug riddled state and wrote several books/articles for Rolling Stone).

Kook factor: Low-Too hard to paddle out, potential beatings/broken board by being caught inside, combined with huge winter swells, makes this beach very unattractive to beginners.

Hostility: Mid/High-Avoid surfing non-parking stretches (see above) and people consuming massive amounts of Budweiser in the parking lot.

Shark factor: Medium-I’ve heard of sightings but have not heard of any recent attacks (documented anyway).

Etiquette tip of the day: Parking lot behavior. If the surf is small or blown out, please, please, please don’t ever try to make the best of it by busting out your spandex and rollerblades. Also, remember the ocean’s not going anywhere, so don’t speed through the parking lot; there’s usually a lot of foot traffic and people do lay their boards on the ground while changing.

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