The wave itself is pretty good. The HB Pier basically acts much like a jetty or a breakwall would. It isn’t quite as effective at disrupting the current or the sand flow as a solid structure would but it is long enough and has enough pier pilings that is does create a fairly consistent and solid sand bar.
You always need to break the pier into two sections, the Northside and Southside. The waves are very similar in shape on both sides but you get a very different feel and attitude as you move from one side to the other. The Northside is designated a surfing area, they don’t close it down for blackball like they do on the Southside in the summer, this seems to help create a more stable crew of local guys. The pack on the Southside seems a bit more transient.
You will probably want to avoid the pier if you are not a strong surfer, don’t like surfing in crowds, or don’t like getting dropped in on. You can pretty much count those things happening every time you paddle out at the pier.
Because of the bigger sandbar the pier isn’t quite as pick on the types of swells needed to make it get good. A combo swell with a lot of W and S swell in it will work the best but you can make do with just a large S swell or large WNW swell.
One extra bonus is the pier channel that forms when it starts to get big and you get a strong current forming along the beach. A little pocket will form on the side of the pier opposite of the direction of the current. So if the current is coming down from the NW the channel forms on the Southside. If the current is from the South then the channel is on the Northside. It is a little treacherous though…lots of water moving around, solid barnacle-encrusted pilings and guys fishing from the pier make a not so fun obstacle course at times.
Spot details:
Best swell direction: S, SSW, W, WNW, and combo swells
Best Wind: N-NE-E, light-moderate Santa Ana winds are the best.
Sea Floor: Sand
Best Season: Late Fall through Winter
Crowds: Hell yes it is crowded…it can get totally out of control in the summer and on weekends.
1 comment:
The left off the N side on a strong 180 swell is the best wave out there. It's really almost like a sand point, especially if previous S swells have moved a lot of sand to the N side (actually quite distinct viewed from the Pier). The only problem is you end up so far up the beach that you need to walk back up & paddle out at the Pier. Forget trying to paddle back against the river like S->N drift.
I should also mention that you can just about forget catching any of these waves as well. The local crew doesn't give anyone a break - including each other. There's at least 4 guys paddling for each wave, 2R + 2L. You need to know who's going which way, as there's a lot of jockeying & communication (ie calling out direction).
To make matters worse, some of these guys are professional surfers and/or very good longboarders. It can make for a very frustrating session, which is why some people can get a little, um, disenchanted with the place.
The best option is to paddle out at the Pier channel, and then drift N right by the crew up to the 2, 3 or 4th N peak. That's where the visitors hang - since most everyone is transient, you'll typically have a chance to compete for waves.
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