Days 85 to 87: Big Sur and Big Surf



Santa Barbara was a nice beach
town great for seeing on bike.

 I woke up just a few blocks from the beach in Santa Barbara where my car was parked along a side street.  The air was damp and cool, which didn't help my wet suit dry at all the night before, but was good weather for a bike ride around around town.  My first stop, of course, was the beach where volleyball courts and palm trees decorated the golden sand and a classic wooden pier led into the bay.  I rode down the quiet pier which looked to be quite a happening place at different hours of the day given the assortment of shops and restaurants on it. 

Next, I headed into town, keeping my eyes peeled for an affordable looking breakfast shop.  There were lots of high end stores, boutiques and fancy restaurants along the main strip where I finally found a bagel shop that I figured was in my price range.  It turned out to be one of the most expensive bagel sandwiches I've ever had since the prices they listed for 'bagel sandwiches' only included the inside of the sandwich, and not the bagel which had to be purchased in addition.  The owners and other customers were kind people (one women even bought a homeless guy some toast and milk) and seven dollars later, I was on my way with some good info on surf shops in the area. 




Southern Big Sur

 I stopped at a shop on the way back to the car and they had a decent selection of booties, gloves, and hoods.  The guy at the shop was friendly and helpful and the prices looked fair so I picked up some gear.  For about $160 I got a pair of 3mm gloves, a pair of 6/5/4mm booties (different parts of the boots are made with different thicknesses of neoprene), and a base layer vest with an attached neoprene hood, which will hopefully supplement my wetsuit well enough for the 50 degree water in Oregon.  Ready for the cold northern Pacific, I quickly rode back to my car and hit the road northbound.


The central California coastline had
views like this around every turn

 I stayed on Coastal Highway 1 nearly the whole way, checking the surf every few miles.  Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Cayucos and some other places were small, blown out not worth paddling out for.  Well into the afternoon, I was starting to get a bit discouraged about my chances of getting some waves that day when I passed a small jetty and river mouth just north of the quiet town of Cambria.  The waves looked fun and a few guys were already out, which was reassuring.  In a futile attempt to keep my new gear dry, I decided to skip the booties, gloves and hood.  Big mistake.  The water felt significantly colder than in southern California and within a half hour my feet were frozen.  I paddled around a lot so I could keep my feet in the slightly warmer air and just tried to catch as many waves as I could since the feeling of surfing always brings me a sense of warming euphoria.  I talked to a couple of guys in the water and they told me about a spot called Willows to check on my way north.  After about an hour in the water, the tide came in and the waves got a bit mushy so I ended the fun evening session and headed into town for some beer and wifi.

Willows cove in southern Big Sur

I slept somewhere on the side of the highway 1 and woke up to incredible views in the southern part of Big Sur.  Strangely, the waves below were pretty flat as I drove along the edge of steep forested cliffs.  Finally the twisty road made a magical turn and presented before my eyes 8 foot a-frames breaking in to a cove of crystal blue water.  I stopped at an overlook to get a better look and spotted some surfers doing the same from a parking lot below.  I headed down and introduced myself and found the guys to be really cool and friendly.  They were working each other up to paddle out into the big surf and I'd like to think I helped persuade them.  I certainly knew that I didn't want to go out there alone.  They invited me to surf with them which made me take back my stereotype that surfers are selfish and not friendly, then again, they were climbers too. 



James paddles into one of the first
waves at our Willows session



Big Sur coast

 One of the guys, James, paddled out first to a big peak in the middle of the cove.  We watched as he got worked getting outside and then tried to paddle into the big waves.  He caught a couple but came in after getting caught inside on a big set. By that time we were suited up and followed James to a northern part of the cove which was more protected.  A rip took us right out onto a left breaking peak where heads of kelp bobbed up and down in the water like one of those hit the gopher games you'd find at a carnival.  I missed a few waves before I finally caught one and sped across its smooth face for about 80 meters.  I was stoked and for about an hour we traded waves.  Later they invited me back to their 'steal this' campsite and shared some lunch with me.  It was low tide and a bit dicey going back to Willows so I followed them to some other places to check further north.  We didn't find any places working to well so we departed and I continued north through Big Sur. 



Some sets rolling in at
The Tick, but in Spanish

 I didn't find much more accessible surf along the way until I reached a headland just north of the town of Carmel where a big right hand point break was going off.  I went to have a better look and when I returned two guys had just arrived to get in.  They had come from north and told me that Carmel beach was good, but that this spot, called 'The Tick" in Spanish, was a lot bigger.  They too invited me to join them and I told them maybe I would after checking Carmel.

A few miles north took me to the affluent town of Carmel which is home to a beautiful, well protected (from wind), white sand beach.  The beach breaks looked fast and a bit smaller.  It didn't inspire me at the time, so I drove back to The Tick and suited up. 



The beautiful white sand beach of
Carmel, California

 I didn't have any beta on how to get outside (of where the waves are breaking) so I just tried paddling out from the beach.  I got shut down on three attempts before one of the guys came in and told me to go further into the cove on the right.  I didn't go far enough and just when I thought I was outside, a big set came in and pushed me back to shore.  The other because he thought his friend was warning him of a shark when really, he was just overly stoked and telling him about a good left-hander that was breaking into the cove.  It was a funny exchange of words between the two regarding the miscommunication, but some good came out of it.  The guy that had just come in wanted to catch a few more and offered to show me the way to get out, which was many time easier than paddling in from the beach.  Once outside I realized the size of the sets coming in.  I missed one and pledged to get the next big set wave coming.  He caught one and I got the next in the set, which was a biggie I had to paddle even further out to catch.  Still, I dropped in late, flew down the steep face and was suddenly thrown into the air by a bump in the wave.  It was heavy surf and I really didn't want another battle to get back outside so I went in and had different thoughts about the smaller surf at Carmel. 

I kept my wetsuit on and raced back to Carmel beach for a sunset session.  The waves at glassy waves at Carmel were steep and fast but I managed to pick off a few good ones that kept my stoke going.  I was the last one to leave the water and when I finally did, the moon was shining bright in the sky opposite a fading pink sunset. 

Maresa Beach looking a lot smaller
from the cliff than in the water.

Unable to find a shower, I washed out my wetsuit in a sink and drove toward Santa Cruz to a less patrolled area of the coast.  I found a spot in the closed down California State Park of Maresa Beach and parked as far away from the "No Overnight Parking" sign as I could. 

Thankfully, no one bothered me and I woke to find myself on at the top of a cliff that offered commanding views of a wide beach and the northern point of Monterey Bay at Santa Cruz.  The waves below were thundering and I watched one guy paddle out and fail to catch any waves.  I decided to check out Santa Cruz to see if I could get lucky at one of their many famous point breaks.



Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz



Unknown point break in Santa Cruz

 I'd heard some good things about a wave at Pleasure Point so I stopped there first.  Most of the Santa Cruz coast is southern facing and its many jagged headlands create some of the best point breaks in the country.  Needless to say, Santa Cruz is home to quite a surfing population and like the rest of California, lots of people just hanging around the beaches.  By the time I got to Pleasure Point, there were already more than 20 guys in the water so I decided to ride along the coast and try to find a less crowded spot.  It was a great day for a bike ride and along the way I found a couple of other spots but nothing that made me want to paddle out.  Many of the waves were better suited to long boards and the further north I went, to the less exposed coastline, conditions deteriorated.  I checked out some surf shops in the area and had some lunch at a great burger joint before heading back to Maresa beach to see if it had calmed down at all. 

Hanging out to dry after a great
session at Maresa Beach

Maresa was looking a bit more manageable so I suited up and paddled out to the best spot I saw breaking.  I had the whole place to myself and I caught more than a few good waves.  I was feeling great when I got out and stuck around the park to enjoy a sunset from the cliff and let my wetsuit dry off.  Later, I headed up to San Francisco to pick up a friend of a friend at the airport and then go to Adam's, an old friend from Taiwan, place in the city.