anyone here ever have any luck surfing Catalina Island? if so, where? how’d you get there? what to expect?
i might crew for someone who’s doing the paddleboard race and i’m trying to figure out whether it would be worth bringing a board (and getting my hopes up).
thanks,
tommy
Don’t bother bringing a surfboard. What little surf there is on the island sucks and is on the backside of the island, which is not where you will be for the Classic. What you should definitely bring is a mask, snorkel, and fins to take advantage of the great diving that the island offers. This time of year the water is warm and clear and you can see some great things right around the Isthmus.
I don’t know about surfing but I have a friend who goes fishing over there a lot and he says there are a lot of Great White sightings, but the reports are suppressed because of the tourist industry. That’s what he says anyways.
thanks man
you should talk to this lady about the water sports…
http://beach.freedomblogging.com/2008/06/23/shark-attacks-woman-on-kayak-at-catalina-knocks-her-off/
seriously…I get the heebs paddling between hermosa and manhattan piers more than 100 yards off the shore.
call me yeller, but I don’t have the cojones to cross the channel (or the shoulders).
Hi Tommy,
There’s some info here:
http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/North_America/USA/California/LA_County/shark_harbor/index.html
Good Luck!
thanks. i’d seen some stuff on wannasurf, but wondered if any of you guys had first hand experience.
i was hoping that the island would have some spot that was always head high and perfect w/ no one out. i’m jonesing so bad for some good surf. i guess i won’t be surfing.
the surf jonesing is so bad i want to order another board. this happens every so often when i don’t get the itch scratched… i start daydreaming about great waves and somehow think that if i get new board i’ll be satiated… funny.
The surfing, obviously, is all on the backside of the island, and you’ll need someone with access to the Conservancy land, as it’s all gated off. If you can get there, or find someone at CIMI (Toyon Bay) who’d be psyched to go, you could do it. And there’s always someone psyched to go, maybe you know someone who lives out there? That’d help a ton.
I’ve never heard of epic perfect waves or anything, but here’s a rundown of what I’ve seen/surfed/heard;
Ben Weston - a beautiful beach with a treacherous descent from the road, with a decent beach break. Conditions really improve (or worsen) depending on the wind.
Salta Verde Point - never been down there - you need a boat I think, but evidently it’s pretty sweet with a southern swell.
Shark’s Cove (I think that’s what it’s called, though I’m only 70% sure), is another decent beach break right between Little Harbor and Ben Weston. It break’s bigger, if I’m remembering correctly, than BW, but more sloppy. Sidenote: I sailed/snorkeled/chilled on the island and heard about sharks, but never had any problems, i.e. sift through the hype.
I haven’t heard anything about north of the isthmus, but I would imagine that there could be some stuff. A lot of unexplored terrain, or minimally explored maybe, which is cool. It’d be nice to have 2 weeks and a 40’ sailboat with a quiver, and some Santa Ana winds blowing offshore.
That’s what I live for…
The problem, again, is access.
I used to surf Catalina back in the 70’s. It’s kind of hit or miss and you need a boat to get to the spots. Shark Harbor was where I’ve had the most luck.
If you have a boat - preferably with a motor - with room for a board, you don’t have much to lose. If you see waves and you’re boardless, you may bum hard.
Surfer Mag Vol 4, #4/Aug-Sept. 1963, has an article on surfing Catalina. Shark Harbor is identified as the best spot for summer waves.
As far as the sharks go… it’s mostly makos, blues, and horn sharks. I’ve seen a hammerhead there. Like everywhere else in California, whites visit too. Lot’s or rays. The weirdest and cool fish that’s native to Catalina is the Garabaldi. They look like they’re made of rubber, and they must know it’s a huge fine if you harass them, so they let you get up close.
an article from 45 yrs ago? Seriously Bill, you’ve either got the memory of an elephant, or the worlds greatest surf magazine collection complete with topic indexing!!
Sadly, these days, I have the body of an elephant! I had just purchased that issue two weeks ago, at an SHF/Longboard Collector event, because it has a photo spread that I’m in called ‘‘San Diego Scene.’’ So it was recent exposure, not exceptional memory, though I am blessed with a good one.
Ha! Ha! I was just thinking about the same article as I read thru this thread. Now where did you find that? No answer necessary. Hd McDing