I am looking to take a trip down next week and looking for various places to hit up… What’s doing well out there right now ? I am driving down from Calgary, Alberta.
B
Try Oregon Surf Page. Ask for Doc or Gaz. They’re “grizzeled old experts” and always helpful.
might be best that you ‘lurk’ on that page for a bit and get a feel for the place—some of the guys are a bit ‘grumpy’ about Their place…there’s lots of good info in the Stormriders Guides — the north america issue is very good. lots of good surf and the wines of oregon are GReat! the Central coast of oregon has the greatest varity of waves and generally the folks are very friendly, assuming you don’t come off as a complete asshole…one of my favorite places to visit.
Nah! I wouldn’t lurk. I’d just jump right in and get the “goods”. 90% of the people on that page are from somewhere else any way. The other 10% are from PDX.
on your way down thru washington you can begin on whidbey island, drive south across the border and head through bellingham on 5, when you get to MOUNT VERNON hang a roscoe, and go west till you approach anacortes, where you’ll head south on 20 through whidbey, there are spots the whole way down to point partridge and occasionally a little further, dont listen to anyone who says there arent, there are and they get good enough, when you get to the ferry landing go over to the OLYMPIC PENINSULA, follow the coastal highway all the way to NEAH BAY, there are plenty of waves along the way to find on your own if the swell is out of the NW or A strong strong west, these spots mainly work on incoming tide, are fickle and occasionally some of the raddest waves you’ll ever ride, after you exhaust the northern washington STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA coast head south along 101 down the washington coast, use politeness and sensitivity on the Native reservations, lots of waves all along the coast , ask around and if you get to WESTPORT go south to WASH AWAY BEACH , surf here on an incoming tide if the swell is SW above 3-4 feet and get sick long waves over houses and rebar and cars, be careful, plenty of waves and grumpy oregonians down here , when you get to oregon avoid SEASIDE and go to other spots, CAPE LOOKOUT on the southern end is a great place to surf and spend the day too, beautiful and an amazing wave. needs NW swell over 5-6 feet with NW wind.
when you get to NEWPORT gimme a call and i’ll point out a couple other spots and you can crash our yard.
love
mikel
oh yeah, 360 223 2094
This time of year whidbey will be a waste, waves in the straits are doubtful but possible, and your chances of scoring good washaway are slim even if you live here. Drive 101 and find your own peak, there’s plenty.
I am planning to drive down through Seattle regardless but was thinking to get there more through Spokane… What is this Whidbey area like ? Will I be wasting a lot of time if I do choose to roll through their just to check it out ?
btw. thanks for all the info guys
Check out Mark at www.cannonbeachsurf.com. Get on his email list and he will email you pics of Cannon Beach of Indian Beach daily.
D
Quote:
---some of the guys are a bit 'grumpy' about Their place....
I wonder why...???...
Yeah, like you'll find it like that...
Almost all of them live in Portland, there are three locals and the rest are certified four year experts on all aspects of surfing…
I would stay away from the osp…
Quote:
Nah! I wouldn’t lurk. I’d just jump right in and get the “goods”. 90% of the people on that page are from somewhere else any way. The other 10% are from PDX.
This is starting to get a bit cheesy. When I was driving through Oregon last summer, I stopped at just about every shop I saw to scope out the area, everyone was friendly, people on the beaches were good shit and for the most part I felt more comfortable there than in a lot of places in BC, go figure, perhaps it’s because I am Canadian and theres a blurry line between how we should be treated ? Not sure.
All I am saying is that if I didn’t live in Alberta, I would most def. pick Oregon as a choice, the people are top notch, as well, in Washington. Don’t let a few bad apples burn out the reputation. I am doing a solo trip, I understand and respect the water and those on it, I highly doubt I will run into any issues as far as “aggro” surfers go.
“Hey bra, you just stole my downpoured, mushy grey wave!!!” unlikely, as I don’t think surf conditions will be that hot right now.
actually whidbey island (google) breaks very well in the summertime, small groundswell out of the Northwest, common in summertime north pacific, bends in very well past the ediz hook and doesnt get ground and mushed against the bottom the way swells over 8 feet do in this inner strait area, not that im advocating you going here, maybe im only advocating run on sentences, 101 is a great bet and everyone in oregon is lovely…
sincerely
mikel
p.s. With all due respect, if you live in Westport chances are good you don’t see Whidbey Island on a regular basis, besides the fact that i’ve lived in that area and surfed there for around 5 years i feel qualified to expound on the topic. Networking is important and the fella asked for info, he lives in alberta and won’t be “crowding” any break for too long. Washaway breaks often enough to recommend checking it out too, hard to argue with that dude. Thanks.
I’ll take your word on the whidbey thing, but on a limited trip is it more likely that decent waves will be found on whidbey or on the coast in summertime? I know whidbey gets good every now and again, but the swell possibilities on the coast are just more likely.
NW ground swells in summer? I haven’t seen swell with more than a 12 second period in months.
Keeping that in mind, for the guy who started this thread. You will find many beach breaks on 101 perfect for the short period wind swell we get, surfing in the morning and finding protection from that wind is key. Look at a map and don’t be afraid to venture down some side roads, you may be amazed at what you find.
It’s actually not that hard for me to argue on the consistency of washaway, especially in summer.
Surprised you didn’t mention the jetty, pretty much our only consistent wave in the summer.
Spot naming may also be best done by PM’s for “networking” purposes.
Paul,
Don’t make eveybody drool too much, the cove hasn’t looked like that in a LOOOONG time. We can dream though.
Hey Paul , Erins in that group of locals, shes just to short to get in the shot.
I found a box for her to stand on…
oh totally, i just figured he’d be headin through whidbey on his way to the coast, no argument intended … coming from the east coast of florida i think i read ground swell as anything over 10 seconds…i guess thats just the floridian in me.
have a good day all.
even though she is with a tattered ,grumpy bunch, erin is beautiful as ever.obviously got her looks from dear ol’ mom, heh KP?
In Seattle right now, planning to head either to seaside/cannon beach area or to westport area manana… any thoughts ?
If you have the time head up around the oly peninsula, in the straits you can watch three inch waves break down cobble points and dream of the possibilities. Once out on the coast begin your search for waves, I’d camp up north and surf one of the beach breaks in the morning which will be chest high and off shore until probably noon ish then the NW winds will nuke.
In the North is a truly wild surfing experience that I would think few places in the western US could match. It would be an injustice to not see the rugged beauty of northern WA on your trip.
Afro,
You must be freezing.
I can’t believe the name dropping on this thread. WTF is wrong with some of you, weirdport is weirdport but WI will hold 6 guys max in the rotation. Uncool, the internet has screwed a lot of spots here where you’d have to pay your dues or james bond someone to get there in the old days. Always someone from somewhere else.
And yeah, I’ll defend some on the OSP. Like here, some are cool and others, like the guy who threatened to kill me, could use some therapy but you know what? In the end he wanted to order a board from me. Haha, welcome to the PNW. It ain’t pretty but surf is surf…