by billie_morini » Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:21 am
Aloha Vincent,
You will need a 4/3 mm wetsuit. This weight suit is almost always needed north of San Francisco in Marin and Mendocino counties. It is also needed south of San Francisco all the way to Ventura County in Spring due to cold water upwelling.
The Pacific Ocean right in San Francisco is not friendly to beginners. You can, however, go north to Bolinas. That is a fun place even for intermediate surfers. You can also go to Dillon Beach even farther north. This is a very good beach to work on crumbly waves. They just keep coming all day long.
The surfing lessons closest to San Francisco are available from two or more vendors in Pacifica. However, Pacifica does not offer very good surf.
My suggestion is to go straight to Santa Cruz and spend a lot of time there. There is nearly always surf. The water is cold, but very clean. In addition to Bolinas located north of San Francisco, I used to go to Santa Cruz, located south of Santa Cruz, when I lived in NorCAL, Santa Cruz has a very big surfing community, many vendors providing lessons, a good used board market, many surf breaks, and a surf museum in an old lighthouse. Two breaks I surfed a lot in Santa Cruz that you may like are Pleasure Point and 38th Street. While in Santa Cruz, also visit the O"Neill Surf Shop. It is very large!
You can build your entire holiday around Santa Cruz. However, if you continue south, then you should be able to find some beginner / intermediate surf in Cayucas and Pismo Beach before you reach Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara is flat in Summer. So, simply visit when driving south. I suggest you visit the original Channel Islands Surf Shop. Might as well go to J7 and the Beach House shops, too, because they are a 4 minute walk from Channel Island.
Continuing south, you should try to surf at Surfer's Point in Ventura. This is a very large surfing area that actually has some surf in Spring. You should also try to surf at Huntington Beach pier. This is the center of Surf City USA and, therefore, quite notable. While in Huntington Beach, get breakfast, lunch, or dinner at the Sugar Shack Cafe. This restaurant has long catered to surfers. In fact, it is owned by a notable surfer. There is also a good surfing museum within walking distance of the pier and cafe. You will enjoy going to the massive surf shops located close to the pier. They are Jack's and Huntington Beach Surf Shop. They are across the street from one another and within walking distance to everything else I've mentioned.
If you continue south, you must try to surf at San Onofre state beach in northern San Diego County. The Dog Patch break there provides longboarders with rides longer than 1 minute under the right conditions. It is one of my favorite breaks. Tandem teams practice there and that is always amazing to see when up close in the water with them. The water is usually warm here and you may become warm in your 4/3 mm suit. If you plan on surfing there for more than a couple of days, as well as continue to San Diego, you may want to buy a 3/2 mm suit. I would get one in Santa Barbara's Beach House store, anyone of many shops in Santa Cruz (including O'neills), or either of the two big shops in Huntington Beach. You find good selection and OK pricing.
In San Diego there are many surf breaks. There is usually surf somewhere no matter which way the swells and wind are going. However, San Diego reminds me of surfing in San Francisco. It's a city with city vibe - not a surfing vibe. So, I don't like it.
Ciao,
billie
) so I need to get practice as soon as I arrive to cal.
