Going back to Cali, Bay Area surfers: Tell me about Whitey

[LOLRuss]

Some of you may remember me - I was on here a lot last year learning to surf in Florida. Well, I moved to Atlanta again. Its been like a year. I am now fat and soft, and I miss the waves.

So we're likely moving to 'silicon valley' territory - south bay area/san jose. Which means I can live in Santa Cruz through Pacifica. I'm thinking seriously about Half Moon Bay, since its a short hop over 92 to the central peninsula if you leave real early, but it will depend on where I work.

But... I keep thinking about them darn white sharks. That cold, cold water. I know we get more attacks on the east coast. I know white shark attacks are rare. And yet... reading about one of the beaches on surfline there, it said there are headless seals that wash up all the time and to report any white sightings because they are a problem there. Uhhh...

Seriously, bay area surfers... talk to me about Whitey.

Is bay area surfing good? Like Half Moon Bay/Pacifica (keep in mind I'm a novice longboarder, but I did surf some overhead hurricane swells. I was in great shape then though - I'd probably drown if I tried that now. Actually, no probably about it. I'd drown.) I keep hearing about unpredictable and potentially hazardous conditions with tide, etc. It would be a bit harder to live down Santa Cruz ways - killer commute.

[LOLRuss]

Oh, one more thing: I have a custom 3.5 mil wetsuit (I'm fat). Is that gonna cut the mustard in that cold pacific water? It was good enough for LA area in summer/spring - dunno about norcal.

[billie_morini]

Russ,
I've spent about 2.5 years as a beginner/intermediate surfer in the SF Bay Area. I have lived and worked in that region for close to 22 years. I'll share what I thínk about it and your questions.

1. Surf in NorCal is cool. It's rough and the cold water feels really good. I just moved to Santa Barbara and think the water is almost too warm.

2. Your 3.5mm suit will serve you well. I used a 4/3 (not much diff). I always wore 1.5mm hood and booties, but never gloves. When especially cold, I wore a sleeveless rash guard underneath. Sometimes I'd also wear some rash guard shorts.

3. White sharks are prevalent, especially north of Pleaure Pt (Santa Cruz). But, so what? It never stopped me and should not stop you. By the way, there is a lot of kelp off-shore at Pleaure Pt and 38th St Tboth in Santa Cruz) and it keeps the sharks out (pretty much).

4. I surfed a bunch at several beaches at Pacifica. None were very good, but at least I could get in the water.

5. Half Moon Bay surfing isn't so great either.

6. I'd do a lot of homework related to traffic in the South Bay before deciding where to live. Best thought from me is to live really close to work to minimize brutal daily traffic. Then I would surf every weekend at Pleasure Pt in Santa Cruz (park at 41st st). It is very consistent and the other surfers are share a pleasant attitude. In fact, join the Big Stick Surf Club in Santa Cruz. They are very cool, a lot of fun, and always holding clinics.

7. When you want to try soething different, then go to Bolinas in Marin County or a couple of breaks in Sonoma County. I never surfed at SF's Ocean Beach. It seemed like you have to be really fit to surf there, unless only surfing the mushy.

8. When you want to try something really different, take some vacation time and surf at San Onofre. Thàt's about 6 to 7 hour drive soth from the SF south bay. There you will find 7ft swells that you can easily ride for 45 to 60 seconds. The water is warm and the other surfers are very mellow. I used to make thàt my holiday. Hope you will try it.


Hope this helps and you like surfing in NorCal as much as I do/did.

[LOLRuss]

Thanks, that does help. A ton of good info. I don't quite get how you can ignore white sharks though - have you ever seen one?

[billie_morini]

LOLRuss,
I have not seen a white shark while surfing. I have seen bull sharks when surfing in FL. If you mean, have I ever seen a white shark in a zoo, a photo, etc, then, "yeah." Everything we do has risks. The shark bit risk is miniscule. That's partly why I don't think about it. The other reasons are 1) I'm there to enjoy the water, so I'm not thinking about sharks, and 2) years of motorcycle road racing has made calmness in the face of calamity a casual occurence with me. It's OK if you want to stay on the shore, but I promise you'll be missing some good NorCAL surf.

[LOLRuss]

Yeah, I know they're not a major danger... I'm just a bit scared of the whites. I saw spinner sharks all the time, 6 in one week, in Florida. I learned to deal with it. I'll learn again - but it sounds like actually seeing white sharks is common... and thats good. Because I would NOT handle that so well.

Are there any warning signs? Like in Florida, if bait fish are jumping all around you... you need to leave the water. Once I had a bunch of them land on my back - yikes! Whereas actually seeing a spinner jump, not so bad. Are there warning signs in NorCal other than headless seals?

[billie_morini]

Read the post at the link below. You don't stand a chance.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14288&p=131944&hilit=hunt#p131944

[LOLRuss]

That is terrifying

[travel]

i nvr thought abt the white untill seeing ur post... besides, there r always heaps of surfers in the line up, so even if the white is out you can play a probability game ...

Noticed u surfed in Florida before.. I'm relocating to Miami soon. Do you have any spot to recommend? What I've gathered so far doesn't spell too good for Miami itself. To find good surf, it seems I have to travel way up north. But if u do know some secret spot in Miami, don't mind sharing?

Also u mentioned u have a 3.5 wetsuit. Hopefully it was not intended for Florida, was it? Can I survive with a rash guard & board shorts in Miami?

sorry for highjacking though...

[LOLRuss]

i nvr thought abt the white untill seeing ur post... besides, there r always heaps of surfers in the line up, so even if the white is out you can play a probability game ...

Noticed u surfed in Florida before.. I'm relocating to Miami soon. Do you have any spot to recommend? What I've gathered so far doesn't spell too good for Miami itself. To find good surf, it seems I have to travel way up north. But if u do know some secret spot in Miami, don't mind sharing?

Also u mentioned u have a 3.5 wetsuit. Hopefully it was not intended for Florida, was it? Can I survive with a rash guard & board shorts in Miami?

sorry for highjacking though...

Sorry bro, the Bahamas are in the way. No good waves near Miami Head north to Melbourne.

And yes, you can get by without a wet suit in Florida - for most of the year.

[travel]

that is 3 hr drive from my workplace... ... sigh, sure no afterwork surf. the only possible way is a weekend trip... even though, 6 hrs drive (to & fro) for prob 2 hrs in the water, man...