California in October - where should I go/surf
Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 11:16 amHey folks, first time poster here.
I'm going to be in California from Sep 26 to about the end of October (I fly down to Costa Rica
). I'm a 19yo New Zealander, and it will be my first time in the states.
Anyway in my month in Califronia I want to get as much surfing in as possible along side with seeing some sights, meeting new people, exploring and partying. Now I have very little idea about surfing in California in terms of surfing localities, crowds, good breaks etc so I'm after some advice!
Where do people think I should go in my month? Travel around, or base myself somewhere? Rent a board or buy one?
I'll be honest I'm a pretty poor surfer, only started the year before last and I live in a damn inconsistent place. I'm at the stage of dropping in on waves, and riding along the face sometimes but I'm not able to do much. I don't have much of a bottom turn at all. I ride a 7'6 mini-mal too, however I plan to dropped down to a 6'6 or so for this trip and just surf heaps to get used to it.
What would be ideal for me would be waves around chest to head high - overhead all good though if pretty easy waves and paddle out isn't too bad. Minimal crowds, or at least non-aggressive ones who won't mind me going for a wave from time to time. And most of all consistent, clean surf. I should be able to find the time to surf every day pretty much, so consistent swell is ideal. Guessing it's going to be hard/impossible to find a combo this good, but is there anything close to it?
Warm water is nice, as is warm weather. I would love to be able to get by in boardies or a 3/2 no booties, but it's not the main factor for me. Currently where I am the water sits a tad over 50F and air temp is about 55F, so worst case scenario I'm comfortable surfing in temperatures that cold.
I'm also on a pretty tight budget, so backpackers/camping is more my sort of thing and I'd be looking at bussing or hitching to get from place to place. Won't have a car unfortunately, so I will be relying on breaks that are walkable from where I'm staying, public transport and meeting people with cars who can take me places.
Anyway with that all out there, where do peope think I should go?
p.s. I've had an offer from a hostel in San Diego saying if I do 4 hours house keeping for them 5 days a week I'd get free lodging and meals 3 times a week. I'm slightly hesitant as it's in central San Diego which looks pretty far from beaches? Also I need to commit to a month there which would mean I probably wouldn't get much time to surf the rest of california's coast. What do people think though?
I'm also considering basing myself in Santa Cruz for like 2 weeks, finding a place to WWOOF, and then taking 2 weeks to travel down to San Diego surfing along the way and then catch my flight to Costa Rica. better idea?
Hope some people can help me out here.
Thanks!
Sam
I'm going to be in California from Sep 26 to about the end of October (I fly down to Costa Rica
). I'm a 19yo New Zealander, and it will be my first time in the states. Anyway in my month in Califronia I want to get as much surfing in as possible along side with seeing some sights, meeting new people, exploring and partying. Now I have very little idea about surfing in California in terms of surfing localities, crowds, good breaks etc so I'm after some advice!
Where do people think I should go in my month? Travel around, or base myself somewhere? Rent a board or buy one?
I'll be honest I'm a pretty poor surfer, only started the year before last and I live in a damn inconsistent place. I'm at the stage of dropping in on waves, and riding along the face sometimes but I'm not able to do much. I don't have much of a bottom turn at all. I ride a 7'6 mini-mal too, however I plan to dropped down to a 6'6 or so for this trip and just surf heaps to get used to it.
What would be ideal for me would be waves around chest to head high - overhead all good though if pretty easy waves and paddle out isn't too bad. Minimal crowds, or at least non-aggressive ones who won't mind me going for a wave from time to time. And most of all consistent, clean surf. I should be able to find the time to surf every day pretty much, so consistent swell is ideal. Guessing it's going to be hard/impossible to find a combo this good, but is there anything close to it?
Warm water is nice, as is warm weather. I would love to be able to get by in boardies or a 3/2 no booties, but it's not the main factor for me. Currently where I am the water sits a tad over 50F and air temp is about 55F, so worst case scenario I'm comfortable surfing in temperatures that cold.
I'm also on a pretty tight budget, so backpackers/camping is more my sort of thing and I'd be looking at bussing or hitching to get from place to place. Won't have a car unfortunately, so I will be relying on breaks that are walkable from where I'm staying, public transport and meeting people with cars who can take me places.
Anyway with that all out there, where do peope think I should go?
p.s. I've had an offer from a hostel in San Diego saying if I do 4 hours house keeping for them 5 days a week I'd get free lodging and meals 3 times a week. I'm slightly hesitant as it's in central San Diego which looks pretty far from beaches? Also I need to commit to a month there which would mean I probably wouldn't get much time to surf the rest of california's coast. What do people think though?
I'm also considering basing myself in Santa Cruz for like 2 weeks, finding a place to WWOOF, and then taking 2 weeks to travel down to San Diego surfing along the way and then catch my flight to Costa Rica. better idea?
Hope some people can help me out here.
Thanks!
Sam