How to Plan a Southern California Surf Trip
If you're a local California surfer, or you're coming to Southern California to surf, you'll want to take advantage of the right seasons to hit the best swells. The season is key to the planning of your surf trip, because if you're coming a long way, you'll want to concentrate your travel to the most optimum beach location to catch the best waves. Here are some tips to give you a feel for the Southern Pacific coast, and what you can expect to find at different times of year.
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Instructions
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Decide when you will be traveling. Swell energy comes from different parts of the Pacific, depending on what season it is, and knowing where the waves are coming from is essential when planning a successful surf trip (see Resources below).
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In the summer, south swells are the predominant source of waves, so plan accordingly. Many areas of Southern California are exposed to south swells, but certain spots can be much better than others. Some breaks in San Diego pick up south swell pretty well, as do some beaches in LA and Ventura. Santa Barbara, as beautiful as it is, is shadowed by the Channel Islands and thus does not benefit much from south swells.
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In the fall and winter months, the North Pacific becomes active and we see northwest swell energy hitting the coast. This often results in waves where we don't see them in the summer months, notably in Ventura and Santa Barbara, so a trip to these areas might be a worthy undertaking. Swell direction is very important in determining what surf breaks will be working. A direct west swell all but guarantees that the beautiful right point breaks of Santa Barbara will be going off, along with the points, beaches and rivermouths of Ventura. A more northerly swell will probably hit most of the south coast (from LA on down) but will be best in San Clemente and San Diego.
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During the summer, pack a spring suit, vest, rash guard or simply boardshorts to take advantage of the warm water resulting from summer currents pushing warm water up from the south. In the winter months, the sunny California coast meets with often freezing water temperatures and cold air, especially in the mornings, so pack your 4/3 wetsuit, booties and gloves if you really can't take it. A hood does wonders for conserving your body heat as well.
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If possible, pack a varied quiver so that you won't find yourself standing at the shore watching endless beautiful two foot peelers go by while you kick yourself for only bringing a 6 foot 2 thruster. If you can bring a longboard, you are all but guaranteed to find a wave that you can ride, and a wide, thick twinzer or quad fish will open up almost as many doors as an 8- to 10-inch longboard. This advice is especially important in the summer, when longboards and fish dominate the lineups and thruster riders are stuck bobbing on the inside. Diversify for success!
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