Fort Point can be a really fun place to surf if you want a close place to the city. It can break 5 feet and can be fairly clean at times. The only draw back about surfing Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge is it can get packed. Especially if its breaking good. It doesnt always break but when it does it is a really fun place to go when you dont have time to drive to a beach to surf.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Winter Swell California
Its almost that time of year. Its the time of year every surfer in California waits for. Like all surfers we still surf in the summer but we all long for the notorious big winter swell. Whether you surf perfect over heads or surf the huge Mavericks wave, The winter swell in Cali is where its at.
I can tell the swell is near. The ocean in Northern California where I have surfed my entire life is already getting that heavier feel. I was surfing Yesterday at El Nino and caught some solid consistent surf of about 8 feet. All up and down the North Coast of California I am hearing reports of bigger heavier surf. My boys in Santa Cruz are talking a lot and a lot of them have found some great consistent breaks. Like all surfers I know its that great time of year for anticipation of what the winter will bring us here in California.
Some of my favorite waves to surf in Norther California in this order are:
I can tell the swell is near. The ocean in Northern California where I have surfed my entire life is already getting that heavier feel. I was surfing Yesterday at El Nino and caught some solid consistent surf of about 8 feet. All up and down the North Coast of California I am hearing reports of bigger heavier surf. My boys in Santa Cruz are talking a lot and a lot of them have found some great consistent breaks. Like all surfers I know its that great time of year for anticipation of what the winter will bring us here in California.
Some of my favorite waves to surf in Norther California in this order are:
- Mavericks from about October-February
- El Nino
- Davenport north of Santa Cruz
Patrick’s Point – Humboldt County
Surf Location Exit 101 at Patrick’s Point Drive and enter at the park Best Swell Direction Big long-period West for the Point, Northwest for Agate Best Tide High for Patrick’s Point, low for Agate Beach Best Wind Direction Southeast Best Surf Season Winter and Fall Wave Quality When this place turns on it is one of the best Northern California surf spots there is. Not quite the same as Mavericks, but can hold waves up to 25 feet. The left off the point can get really good, and there is an inside right that gets hollow. Beware of the shorebreak getting in and out. The Surfers Can get crowded at Agate, not as much at the Point. If the waves are big, you will generally always find surfers. Boards 7’10” to 10’6” gun for bigger days, funboard for smaller days at the Point and a shortboard for small Agate Paddle Out Pretty far at the Point, not as far at Agate, fairly easy because of a deep channel, but pretty far out. Skill Level Intermediate to Advanced Bottom Rock at the Point, sand and a few boulders at Agate Watch Out For… Several shark sightings, but no attacks...yet, violent shorebreak when its big. Water Condition Clean Harbor Entrance – Humboldt County
Surf Location Take Samoa Boulevard (Route 255) from Eureka or Arcata, drive to the ocean at Samoa Best Swell Direction Huge West or Northwest Best Tide Low Best Wind Direction Southeast Best Surf Season Fall and Winter Wave Quality One of the heaviest surf spots in Northern California, without solid Hawaiian surfing experience, think twice before entering. A peak going left and right with pipeline-like barrels. Lately guys have been towing in at the outer breaks. The Surfers Consistent stream of locals - keep a low profile Boards Gun, PWC (personal watercraft), tow board Paddle Out Moderate to tough Skill Level Advanced Bottom Sand Watch Out For… Big sharks, hostile locals, rough currents Water Condition Semi-clean
Thursday, May 19, 2011
West Coast vs. East Coast Surfing
West Coast or East Coast surfing? Each one of us has our reasons why we like either coast better. Personally I like the West coast. Not only in my opinion are the waves much better but more diverse in the sense of wave size and strength. The only thing about surfing in most spots in the east is no wetsuits that I like about spots there. I guess this column is more of a matter of opinion. Please leave your comments about what coast you like better and why.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Surfing Santa Cruz
Today at the point the waves were going off. I had traveled from Davenport where the waves were not but waist high all along the coast. Beach breaks to say the least. I usually dont like surfing at the point on 41st. The groms and the tourists get in the way. However today was a different day.
I cant really remember the last time I surfed the Point. My usual spots include:
-El Nino
-Deadmans
-Ocean Beach
-Fort Point
-Ano Nuevo
-Four Mile
-The Hook
-Mavericks
Today was different because the waves were breaking over head and there was only 3 people in the water. Hesitantly I parked and suited up. Walking down the stairs brought back some old memories of when I used to surf her as a kid and loved it. So as I paddled out I still had a weird feeling that I was surfing at a lame spot. In the line up I noticed it was a few of the guys I new really well. We all chatted a bit waitin g for the next set to roll through. I caught a nice 6 footer. As I was paddling back I began to think. Why is there such a stereotype of surfing spots like these? I normally would have never surfed her especially a few years ago. Then I realized what I had possibly been missing out on by thinking that way. Back in the lineup I asked my buddies what they thought about it. Keep in mind they are all seasoned older surfers. They all thought the same way I did but as we get older its not all about surfing the cool spots. Its all about where the waves are good and the crowds are low. Which brought us all the this spot that day.
It made me think how many waves that could have been the best ever if I hadn't had such a closed mind all these years. So from here on out Im going to be a surfer that surfs the spots I like not by whats cool or what people thing. Moral of this blog post is to broaden your horizon. Be a leader and surf where it brings a smile to your face. Not to be cool!!
I cant really remember the last time I surfed the Point. My usual spots include:
-El Nino
-Deadmans
-Ocean Beach
-Fort Point
-Ano Nuevo
-Four Mile
-The Hook
-Mavericks
Today was different because the waves were breaking over head and there was only 3 people in the water. Hesitantly I parked and suited up. Walking down the stairs brought back some old memories of when I used to surf her as a kid and loved it. So as I paddled out I still had a weird feeling that I was surfing at a lame spot. In the line up I noticed it was a few of the guys I new really well. We all chatted a bit waitin g for the next set to roll through. I caught a nice 6 footer. As I was paddling back I began to think. Why is there such a stereotype of surfing spots like these? I normally would have never surfed her especially a few years ago. Then I realized what I had possibly been missing out on by thinking that way. Back in the lineup I asked my buddies what they thought about it. Keep in mind they are all seasoned older surfers. They all thought the same way I did but as we get older its not all about surfing the cool spots. Its all about where the waves are good and the crowds are low. Which brought us all the this spot that day.
It made me think how many waves that could have been the best ever if I hadn't had such a closed mind all these years. So from here on out Im going to be a surfer that surfs the spots I like not by whats cool or what people thing. Moral of this blog post is to broaden your horizon. Be a leader and surf where it brings a smile to your face. Not to be cool!!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Mavericks Claims Another Hawaiian
Mavericks claims another life on Wednesday March 16, 2011. Second Hawaiian in 17 years. It brings back grim times for the community which was like yesterday when Mark Foo dies doing wheat he did best, Surfing monster waves.
Sion Milosky, arguably one of the best big wave surfers in the world dies after a bomb wave sends him off his board, QUICKLY followed by another monster 2 wave hold down. There has been many close calls at Mavericks but all surfers that dare to paddle out to surf the massive walls of water knows the ricks involved.
Milosky recently won North Shore Underground Surfer of the Year. The prize money was a helping hand which brought him to Northern California to surf Mavs. Along with Nathan Fletcher they ventured out here which happened to be the biggest winter swells of the year. Milosky leaves behind his 2 young girls and his loving wife. He will be greatly missed and remembered as an icon in the surfing community.
Below is the last moments of Sion Milosky's last wave and subsequent drowning. As told by Chris Killen videographer:
"The guys have been here all week and there has been back to back storms in the Pacific and this was the week for Mavericks to break.
The size of the waves were about 18 to 20 foot, a few 40 foot faces, inconsistent and some seriously big waves coming through for sure.
When Sion went down it was like 6:30 and it was still really light out and to be honest a lot of guys went in, they thought the swell had peaked. For about 30 minutes to an hour there were only a few waves that were breaking.
The rest of the guys were staying out to catch the last of the bombs.
I filmed Sion's last wave.
I had Ryan Sealbach on the back of my ski and we saw Sion go down on a bomb.
It looked like there was a huge jump in the swell and the rest of the evening after Sion's wave the waves were huge.
He was pretty deep on a big one and went super top to bottom and just bulldozed him and you see that a lot out there. The wave passed and his board was tombstoning.
He had an 11-foot board and only two feet of it was sticking out. Add a 15-foot leash and Sion is at the bottom of that.
I said at that moment I have to get in there and the next wave just detonates on him right on top of where the board was.
And when that wave passed, I raced into the bowl and the board had vanished into thin air and I didn't know what to do.
Usually you see a board pop up. I got close to mushroom rock and on my way back out I saw Shawn Dollar get a bomb and get obliterated and I race in and grab in to get Dollar and he thanks me and he says the wave was so gnarly that it ripped off the spare can of air that he had attached to his suit.
Shawn Dollar had that crazy look in his eyes and I take him back out to the bowl and I run across Kyle Buthman, Ryan Chachi. No one has seen Sion and I rush back in and look for him and I wasn't really paying attention and I got caught by a wave and shot out of it on the side and I see Nathan Fletcher looking at his ski.
In my mind I think he has Sion, but he had gone back in to get another board. I ask him if he had seen Sion and I haven't seen him.
Nathan said he hasn't seen him and we go look in the lagoon and mushroom rock and look around. We can't find him and we start to panic and realize that it has been a long time and I figured Sion had gone in.
I check the inside of the rocks and hoping that I would see him and I don't see anything and I look out into the surf and realize that it is Sion.
I run over there I could see down the break wall towards the harbor entrance and I see Nathan Fletcher waving his arms, on the front of his ski.
He has Sion on the front of his ski and he is lifeless. I started getting really sad and we raced to the beach as fast as we can and I hit the beach so hard I flipped over the bars of the ski.
We pull Sion off the ski and Ben Andrews helped us get him up there and we lay Sion on his back and his lips and jaw are blue and his eyes are bloodshot.
I started to do CPR and tell Nate to have someone call 911.
As we continue to do CPR foam and blood is pouring out of his mouth and Shane Desmond comes in doing chest compressions and I am making sure his airway is clear.
And we just sat there and begged Sion to come back until the medics got there. They hooked him up to IV and put a tube into his lungs and kept doing CPR with a pretty big scene on the beach.
They cut his suit off and we find a flotation device in his suit and it freaks me out that a guy like Sion arguably one of the gnarliest big wave surfers in the world could not survive a Mavericks hold down even with a floatation device. Once they put him in the ambulance we knew he was gone.”
Sion Milosky, arguably one of the best big wave surfers in the world dies after a bomb wave sends him off his board, QUICKLY followed by another monster 2 wave hold down. There has been many close calls at Mavericks but all surfers that dare to paddle out to surf the massive walls of water knows the ricks involved.
Milosky recently won North Shore Underground Surfer of the Year. The prize money was a helping hand which brought him to Northern California to surf Mavs. Along with Nathan Fletcher they ventured out here which happened to be the biggest winter swells of the year. Milosky leaves behind his 2 young girls and his loving wife. He will be greatly missed and remembered as an icon in the surfing community.
Below is the last moments of Sion Milosky's last wave and subsequent drowning. As told by Chris Killen videographer:
"The guys have been here all week and there has been back to back storms in the Pacific and this was the week for Mavericks to break.
The size of the waves were about 18 to 20 foot, a few 40 foot faces, inconsistent and some seriously big waves coming through for sure.
When Sion went down it was like 6:30 and it was still really light out and to be honest a lot of guys went in, they thought the swell had peaked. For about 30 minutes to an hour there were only a few waves that were breaking.
The rest of the guys were staying out to catch the last of the bombs.
I filmed Sion's last wave.
I had Ryan Sealbach on the back of my ski and we saw Sion go down on a bomb.
It looked like there was a huge jump in the swell and the rest of the evening after Sion's wave the waves were huge.
He was pretty deep on a big one and went super top to bottom and just bulldozed him and you see that a lot out there. The wave passed and his board was tombstoning.
He had an 11-foot board and only two feet of it was sticking out. Add a 15-foot leash and Sion is at the bottom of that.
I said at that moment I have to get in there and the next wave just detonates on him right on top of where the board was.
And when that wave passed, I raced into the bowl and the board had vanished into thin air and I didn't know what to do.
Usually you see a board pop up. I got close to mushroom rock and on my way back out I saw Shawn Dollar get a bomb and get obliterated and I race in and grab in to get Dollar and he thanks me and he says the wave was so gnarly that it ripped off the spare can of air that he had attached to his suit.
Shawn Dollar had that crazy look in his eyes and I take him back out to the bowl and I run across Kyle Buthman, Ryan Chachi. No one has seen Sion and I rush back in and look for him and I wasn't really paying attention and I got caught by a wave and shot out of it on the side and I see Nathan Fletcher looking at his ski.
In my mind I think he has Sion, but he had gone back in to get another board. I ask him if he had seen Sion and I haven't seen him.
Nathan said he hasn't seen him and we go look in the lagoon and mushroom rock and look around. We can't find him and we start to panic and realize that it has been a long time and I figured Sion had gone in.
I check the inside of the rocks and hoping that I would see him and I don't see anything and I look out into the surf and realize that it is Sion.
I run over there I could see down the break wall towards the harbor entrance and I see Nathan Fletcher waving his arms, on the front of his ski.
He has Sion on the front of his ski and he is lifeless. I started getting really sad and we raced to the beach as fast as we can and I hit the beach so hard I flipped over the bars of the ski.
We pull Sion off the ski and Ben Andrews helped us get him up there and we lay Sion on his back and his lips and jaw are blue and his eyes are bloodshot.
I started to do CPR and tell Nate to have someone call 911.
As we continue to do CPR foam and blood is pouring out of his mouth and Shane Desmond comes in doing chest compressions and I am making sure his airway is clear.
And we just sat there and begged Sion to come back until the medics got there. They hooked him up to IV and put a tube into his lungs and kept doing CPR with a pretty big scene on the beach.
They cut his suit off and we find a flotation device in his suit and it freaks me out that a guy like Sion arguably one of the gnarliest big wave surfers in the world could not survive a Mavericks hold down even with a floatation device. Once they put him in the ambulance we knew he was gone.”
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Northern Cali
Some of my favorite spots to surf are luckily right in my back yard.
It's six foot and perfect. Long clean rides, offshore winds, no crowds. Great day for California surfing. Then I wake up. That was last week, and today it's overcast, small, and blown out. It's all a part of the experience.
Some days are bad. Some are great. You can read about mine here. I've been surfing here in Northern California for twelve years. I now live in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco. The site focus is San Francisco Bay Area but includes other areas as well.
Some of my favorite spots include Fort Point, El Nino, Sunny Cove, Mavericks and Davenport.
It's six foot and perfect. Long clean rides, offshore winds, no crowds. Great day for California surfing. Then I wake up. That was last week, and today it's overcast, small, and blown out. It's all a part of the experience.
Some days are bad. Some are great. You can read about mine here. I've been surfing here in Northern California for twelve years. I now live in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco. The site focus is San Francisco Bay Area but includes other areas as well.
Some of my favorite spots include Fort Point, El Nino, Sunny Cove, Mavericks and Davenport.
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