February 22, 2012 Wednesday

Point Arena	Arena Cove
4:30 pm to 5:30 pm	8' to 10', sets double overhead
Low tide	Stiff NW cross breeze
Sunny, clear and cold	Photograph session

Yesterday (February 21) the surf was non-existent so I went for a long walk on the beach at Stinson. When I returned I had a long chat with Robbie the Stinson local. Robbie, who told me he was 59, has been surfing northern California for a long time. He easily rattled off all the surf spots from Santa Cruz to the Fort Bragg.

"Robbie, have you ever been to Point Arena? And what is it like?" I asked. "My wife and I are going on a brief trip and will stay at a bed and breakfast place there."

"Yes, I've been there. Small cove with a fishing pier with breaks on both sides. The main spot by the point breaks like Sunset Beach in Hawaii."

"Like Sunset!?" I had read that Point Arena could get big. "You mean BIG?"

"Yes. It is one of the most premier spots in all of California."

This morning Kate and I began an excursion to Mendocino and Point Arena. We drove up Highway 101 to Highway 128, made the beautiful drive through the Anderson Valley, passed Boonville, and turned north on Highway 1 to Mendocino. We strolled around the quaint town for a couple of hours, had a great lunch at the Mendocino Hotel and then drove south down Highway 1 to Point Arena. I had never been there before. Through an Internet search we landed a reservation at the Old Coast Guard House. As the name suggested, this place used to be a Coast Guard station that provided housing for the officers and had been converted to a bed and breakfast when the Coast Guard left. I had no idea where the fishing pier and surf spots Robbie had mentioned were located. I was in luck - the Old Coast Guard House overlooked the Point Arena fishing pier.

From the front porch of the main house I saw waves breaking and something floating in the water.

"Are those pelicans out there?" I asked the proprietor.

"No those are surfers. They surf here often."

I looked closer. Ten shortboarders were bobbing up and down among these massive swells. One of them took off and dropped down a face that was at least five feet over his head. The wave crashed and he drove out in front of the rushing white water onto a slow shoulder. He cut back, the wave jumped up, he shot through another overhead section and coasted out on the shoulder and over the top as the wave crashed on an ugly looking rock shelf.

Kate and I walked out to the end of the pier. She checked out the surrounding sights while I gawked at the ten surfers battling the strong currents to get into position for these waves. The break was outside a high bluff point - three hundred yards out and north of the pier. A series of rock ridges ran perpendicular from the high cliff of the point out a hundred yards to the break. The big set waves broke over a reef another fifty yards outside and would reform where the surfers were positioned. They would break again, build up for an inside line-up and break a third time, peeling to the right to finally die in a deep channel that ran into the cove up to the pier. Like the ride above, the surfers dropped down the large faces of the second break, cut back into an inside curl and pulled out as the waves got close the rocks. It was obvious that if one got caught inside they would be in deep trouble of being smashed on the rocks.

I came back an hour later with my camera. By then, only one surfer was still in the water. The wind and chop was picking up. I stood at the end of the pier focusing and focusing as this guy battled the currents and swells for thirty minutes before catching the wave in the above photo. He came in after this ride. Note that according to the Point Arena buoy the swell was 10 ft at 14 seconds.

I was determined to be out early in the morning to capture some more shots. But the wind howled all night and into the morning. I was there early with my camera but white caps ran from the cove to the horizon. No one ventured out into the water. Hard-ass fishermen milled around with hard-ass surfers smoking and drinking coffee staring at the rough seas. Robbie was right, Point Arena broke like Sunset Beach on Hawaii's north shore. I don't think I will be returning, instead I will stick to the friendly waves of Bolinas.

Meanwhile, Kate and I had a great time. I highly recommend the Coast Guard House; it was comfortable, reasonable and the food was good. We visited the lighthouse, climbed to the top and hung on while the wind vibrated the tower. We then had a pleasant four hour drive down Highway 1 all the way home.

Here's a brief description of surfing at Point Arena from one of the first books on surfing in California -

Surfing California - a complete guide to the California Coast by Bank West, copyright 1973, pgs 26 - 27.

Point Arena - A small, mellow town along Hwy 1 having two nice breaks near an old fishing pier.

The Point: A concentrated peak. Steep, hooking takeoff followed by a thick right shoulder. Spits across inside reef. Kelp bulbs mark the paddling channel. Needs a 2 - 10 foot winter swell and a medium-high tide. Caution: Razor sharp inside reef - leashes a must!

The Channel: A peak left, south of old pier. Breaks 2 - 10 feet on winter swells. Medium tide. Lines peel next to deep channel. Exposed rocks. Comment: Like Ala Moana (the fast left tube break at the entrance of the Waikiki Harbor) but not as tubular.