About Malibu Surf Travel
One of the jewels of the California coast, the iconic point at Malibu is one of the most storied spots in all of surfing. The original “hot dog” wave, it was pioneered in the 1930s and ‘40s. Malibu really hit its glory years throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s thanks to luminaries such as Bob Simmons, Joe Quigg, Miki Dora, Johnny Fain and way too many others to name here.
When the Shortboard Revolution took hold at the end of the ‘70s, attention shifted away from Malibu for a period, but thanks to the resurgence of longboard surfing in the late ‘90s, spearheaded largely by Joel Tudor, Malibu once again because a hub for cultural and artistic happenings, as well as some damn hot surfing. Today, Malibu is the center of attention for the Los Angeles surf scene, which means its probably one of the most highly trafficked waves in the world. Malibu’s been crowded forever, but it’s still possible to lock into a screamer on a good south swell and discover the magic that’s kept surfers coming back for the better part of a century now.
Zuma:
This three-mile long beach is a popular summer spot for the Valley kids. Plainly marked restrooms, picnics, snack bar, blackball flags…bring the whole barn. The area serves up a punchy shorepound, with mostly lefts during summer. Great place for bodyboarding, but gets heavy with size and is absolutely nuts over 10 feet. Your best chance is to catch it on a crossed-up swell, stronger from the south, with Santa Ana winds. A great family beach, except for that big gang brawl back in 1992.
At the very southern end of Zuma is a stretch called Westward or Drainpipes, one of the heaviest beachbreaks in Southern California. How heavy? This is where one of California’s most promising amateurs, Jesse Billauer, hit the sandbar wrong and is now paralyzed from the waist down. (Today, he helps fellow spinal cord victims with his foundation, Life Rolls On.) The wave is no joke, and it’s always thicker, hollower and bigger than it looks. Big summer south swells wrap around the point, grinding out bikini-stripping lefts. Follow Westward Beach Road as it snakes a mile-and-a-half out to a dramatic rock cliff at the north side of Point Dume. Voted most likely to blow out.
Leo Carrillo:
An unmistakable right-hander just a half-mile south of the county line where PCH dips down near a scenic cove fringed with large rocks. You may recognize the area as the location of many of the ’60s bikini beach movies. On most days, the wave, also known as Secos, peaks up near the big rock outside, then reforms into a spunky inside section. The problem here is the confined take-off area: it supports about six people, or two greedy longboarders (more often the case). To make matters worse, Leo Carrillo also doubles as a popular windsurfing obstacle course when the northwesterlies kick up in the afternoon. When everything (the wind and waves) is working, the lineup can be more stressful than the South Bay curve during rush hour.
Leo Carrillo is best on a medium tide, with south or southwest swells up to double overhead. There are a series of rock reefs outside that will hold a big west or northwest and push the take-off zone north and outside of the rock, making it set up more like a point. On the biggest swells, there is another point farther north called Primo’s. Water temps tend to be strangely cooler here, due to the odd fact that no one has ever peed in their wetsuit at Leo Carrillo.