Sunny Sydney, rainy Cali

Hello Friends,

Been travelling a fair amount, so only now getting around to sharing some postcards from California.

I took the train from Ventura to Santa Barbara this morning, and along the way I grabbed a few snaps of various surf spots along the way.

The top picture was taken at a spot just west of Ventura called the Overhead. It often picks up any swell that’s around, and it turned out to be about the biggest of today’s selection. A rain front was approaching from the NW (ie from the right side of the picture) and swell is building way up north, so there were a few little forerunners showing at the best exposures. Tide was stupid high (full moon will do that!), so many spots were just too full to break.

(above: Ventura Point, with only 2 out. This is the top of a long (1 km+) series of right hand reefs that include Fairgrounds and California Street. It’s both a swell and a wind magnet. This was taken around 0900, so the wind hadn’t kicked in.

(above Mondos in the foreground and Pitas point in the distance)

Mondos is a gentle beginner’s wave a few kms up the coast from Overhead. It’s usually mobbed with mals and surf schools, but the tide was just too high to be rideable. It sits at the bottom of another long right hand series of reefs at a spot surfers call Pitas (pronounced pie-tis for some reason). On really big, long period winter swells, you can catch waves that zipper along for hundrerds of metres – but it only breaks that way every few years.

(above La Conchita or Little Rincon)

Yet another right hand point / reef setup, La Conchita is reasonably consistent (during the winter surf season) option if you can’t face the crowd at Rincon. It’s split into three zones, with a rocky, sketchy section from the pier to a zone about 150 metres down the point. Then you have another section that is mostly unmakeable, which leads into a slightly softer but often extremely fun, stretch that can deliver rides in the 100-200 metre+ range. On low tide it can pretty quick too.

(above: the Cove, inside at Rincon)

There were only two people in the water chasing the fat, weak high tide lines at the Cove inside Rincon point as my train went by. One of the world’s great right-handers, Rincon is a must-visit spot for any surfer coming to California during the peak swell season (N0vember to February-March).

(above Tarpits, Carpinteria)

Tarpits is really just around the corner above this point set up which is just up the beach from Rincon, but interesting as it looks, this place is basically one of those hoax points that rarely if ever is actually surfable. It looks so promising, but in 50 years of surfing, I’ve seen people out there maybe once or twice. But who knows…

(above: Fernald’s, Montecito)

Fernald’s is an occasionally good, difficult to access right hand point just down the coast from Santa Barbara between the ultra-wealthy suburb of Montecito and the slightly less wealthy beach suburb of Summerland.  For many surfers in the area, Fernald’s is more of an indicator than a destination. If it’s surfable there, Rincon and lots of other quality winter spots will be pumping.

(above: Miramar)

Miramar is the next little point up the coast from Fernald’s. You can see from the train, but otherwise you pretty much have to drive into the warren of private streets to see it. I wouldn’t say it was amazing, but on its day it can be quite fun if you aren’t up to dealing with the intensity of Hammond’s reef which is just around the corner. The only way you can see Hammond’s is by driving down to the end of a particular street, or by walking in along the beach. It’s worth the effort to check out, because it’s a very good right reef break during the winter season. You will never surf it alone however.

I see from the cams in Sydney that you folks have a cloudly start to your day too, and very small and weak looking waves. Looks like a run of NE’rly marginal conditions for a few days yet, but maybe this weekend things will come together for you. (Our surf prospects in southern California are not looking at all interesting for at least another week.)

Have yourself a great Wednesday and catch you again soon