Ben Young
Photo Editor
Photo by Ben Young
Malibu is a surf town, or at the very least, Malibu used to be a surf town. Truth be told, back in the day, Malibu was the surf town in California. It’s hard to imagine that today among the multi-million dollar castles and designer restaurants, the trendy boutiques and Bentleys. But if one looks hard enough, much of that heritage is still visible today — all one has to do is go surf Surfrider on a good day and listen to the old-timers talk about how much better it used to be.
It would be easy for Pepperdine surfers to never venture out of Malibu. With plenty of good spots to go around, even though it can get crowded, it still isn’t too hard to find a good wave, and what is better than being able to throw the boards on top of the car between classes, drive four minutes (six with traffic) down to the beach and paddle out for a little between-class session? But waxing eloquent about how great the surf is in Malibu is not the point of this article; rather, it aims to educate the casual surfer about places to surf away from here — places to go for a day trip or long weekend or whatever. Places to escape to, places to leave the crowd behind, places off the beaten path — here are the places where the surf is epic, as told by the Pepperdine surfers who surf them.
Orange County – Cardiff Reef
Senior Mark Horton loves Cardiff Reef. He’s grown up surfing this break and maintains that it will always be one of his favorites.
“Cardiff breaks over a rock-reef bottom and it’s a great right to left. Because it’s a big break, it doesn’t usually get too crowded and it’s a super chill wave,” Horton said.
He said the water is usually pretty warm —“a lot warmer than up here”— and that it’s best on a rising tide. Camping at nearby San Alejo State Beach costs $8 a night.
Directions: Take the 5 South, exit Encinitas Blvd, left on PCH South, right past meditation garden. Park on the street or state park.
Orange County – Trestles
Trestles is another famous Orange Country break and is actually made up of two breaks, Lower Trestles and Upper Trestles.
“I think this is probably one of the best SoCal breaks,” Horton said. Trestles is a little different than most surf spots of because of its high exposure — “on any given day, there could be a really famous surfer and a whole grip of photographers out there. It’s a fast wave, and it’s best on a rising tide,” Horton added.
The direction of the swell is important at Trestles because it’s best on a strong south-west.
Directions: Take the 5 South, park at the Carl’s Jr and walk back across the freeway, then down a trail to the beach. The exit past the exit for San Onofre dead ends into Trail’s State Park and it is a good camping spot.
Santa Cruz – Pleasure Point
“It’s a long point with rock-reef bottom that has several different section, and so there’s really something for everybody — from racy, hollow sections for short-boarders, to long, mellow waves for intermediates and long-boarders,” said junior Collin Butcher, a Santa Cruz surfer.
“Winter is generally best because of the more consistent swells — the Point takes everything (referring to the direction of the swells) but is best on a Northwest swell,” Butcher said. “The tide heights are important there too, “a high tide will just shut the place down, so it is really important to surf it on a low to medium tide.”
Directions: Take the 101 North, exit and then left on 41st Avenue, then right on Portola Drive, left on 30th, then left on East Cliff Drive.
Santa Cruz – The Hook
“It’s a faster break than Pleasure Point, so it makes for a shorter ride and is perfect for a short-boarder on a big day,” Butcher said. The tides are not as important here, “anything but the extremes,” said Butcher, adding, “on crowded days its got a really agro (aggressive) vibe, so novices beware.”
Directions: Take 101 N, exit and left on 41st and park in the parking lot at the end of the street.
Santa Barbara – Rincon
“All around, Rincon is a really cool wave and depending on the condition of the sandbars, it can hold some really good barreling waves,” according to senior Matt Loevenguth.
The set-up is really similar to Malibu in that the wave breaks off a point and wraps around into a little bay.
“There are a lot of talented surfers out there on good days, but it’s got a really mellow, laid-back vibe and people aren’t too aggressive,” Loevenguth said. Rincon is one of Santa Barbara’s most famous spots and it’s consistently good year-round.
Direction: Take the 101 North and exit on Rincon Street. Park in the parking lot and walk down to the beach.
Northern Baja California – Baja Malibu
Senior Matt Correia really doesn’t like surfing around these parts, so every chance he gets, he bolts for Baja or Hawaii. When he escapes to Mexico, he said he really likes surfing Baja Malibu, in Northern Baja because, “it’s a really cold, big, dark wave and breaks over a mixed bottom … the wave is fast and surfs best on a medium tide.” He cautioned novice surfers to stay away because its “fast, rocky and no lifeguards are ever around.” Like most other Baja spots, camping on the beach is the norm.
At the end of the day, Baja Malibu is pretty awesome because, “even if the waves aren’t that great, there’s a little fireworks stand called Senor Locos close by that sells cheap fireworks.”
Directions: Go through Tijuana and get on the toll road, continue South until you see a huge Baja Malibu sign on the right.
Southern Baja California – Los Cerritos
“It’s a rocky point, so the waves begins pretty far out on a small reef and it breaks like a point break, but then as it comes inside it breaks more like a beach break, so it’s pretty consistent wave,” according to junior Guy Alzentser, who spent much of his Christmas break surfing this spot.
The tides are super important here, “because at low tide the current becomes really, really strong and paddling out is a nightmare.”
“Los Cerritos is the quintessential Baja party beach,” Alzentser said. “There’s guys selling trinkets and fish tacos and cheap beer and you can camp on the beach! It’s a pretty awesome spot.”
Directions: Getting there is a little trickier and requires flying into San Jose del Cabo and renting a car. Take the North road about 45 minutes and about kilometer marker 72, follow the dirt road on the left side and it will dead end into Los Cerritos.
02-10-2005
