El Capitan:
The Surfer’s Journal didn’t label El Capitan a “rare bird” for nothing. It breaks so seldom that you begin to wonder if it’s even a surf spot and if the photos you’ve seen of the break were all fabricated from somewhere far, far away. Well, they weren’t, and El Cap does get damn good. Former world champ Shaun Tomson (the man who was bred on Jeffreys Bay) calls it one of his favorite pointbreaks, which gives you an idea of its potential. But he’s one of the lucky ones who’s seen it break.
The setup is another dreamy Santa Barbara right-hand point. It’s in plain view from Highway 101 and has a pleasant campground to boot — site of a Chumash Indian trading village for centuries. The big picture is just too good to be true (easy access, mild weather, ideal half-moon cove), and that’s why we only see El Cap lift a finger but a handful of times (if that) each autumn and winter season. It needs large west swells with just the right tide and wind, and you need to be able to ditch work or just be serendipitously passing through to score a few of those fabled right barrels.
If it is breaking properly, you won’t be alone: several Santa Barbara-Goleta locals have practically made it their life’s work to check El Cap habitually at any hint of swell and slack wind combo. With all the obsessive and maniacal composure of deprived methadone addicts, these guys launch themselves into El Cap’s long, roping barrels when they do occur while everyone else be damned, including you. Therefore, if you do happen to see it firing, don’t expect to score many (or any) set waves, unless you want to sit deep and risk the unmakable section, which will then thrust you into the boulders, resulting in a barnacle massage.
Campus Point:
Here lies the famed University of California at Santa Barbara, a combo party school/serious study institution, depending on whom you talk to. Crested on the bluffs overlooking the placid Santa Barbara Channel and various reefs and sandbars, it’s not difficult to see why so many academic-minded surfers pick UCSB first over other equally stellar institutions. The college town of Isla Vista was rated in Playboy magazine as one of the top 10 party towns in the nation, and the place can claim many legendary coast side superlatives: legendary girls, legendary parties and legendary hangovers. Unfortunately, the surf usually doesn’t quite measure up, but it does have its epic days and is considerably more consistent than the county’s more southerly (or easterly) beachbreaks.
First up is Campus Point, which is near the Goleta Pier and an authentic member of the Santa Barbara Epic Right Pointbreak Club (SBERP). Problem is, it requires a pretty big swell to reach its potential, and those kinds of swells usually coincide with foul south winds and overall crummy conditions. Nevertheless, Campus Point is a long wave with several sections, including a zippy inside wall during low tide. When it’s breaking, it’s almost always packed with students due in partly because the UCSB dorms are right across the street from the parking lot.
Coal Oil Point:
For higher consistency but lower quality, there’s Devereux (DEV-er-oh), aka Coal Oil Point, another right-hander on the opposite side of town and part of the scenic and tranquil Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve. Devereux is a lot mushier and sectionier than Campus Point, but it does turn on occasionally and boasts a series of takeoff zones. The outer peak is a steep drop near some washrocks, and it either sections off or holds up for a fast line through the inside (unless, of course, you get snaked by some kook(s), which is a possibility considering the student factor). Another negative aspect is the proliferation of kelp, which is good for the marine ecosystem but a big pain-in-the-ass for leashes and multi-finned surfboards. There’s also a ton of smelly, sticky tar out there, and you’ll probably end up with some of it in your hair, on your board and between your toes.
Sands:
Just around the corner is a pleasant white sand beach known as Sands, also part of Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve. Here you have what’s called “Stu Peak” out front of the entrance gate, so-named because of the obvious UCSB student factor. It’s not really one peak — more like two or three spread out over a couple hundred yards of beach. There are actually quite a few semi-dangerous rocks, so beware during lower tides. The place can only handle peaky swells up to 5 or 6 feet, and the shape can leave much to be desired. However, Stu Peak has been known to dish up some downright good waves, tubes and all, so if you plan on enrolling into UCSB, you’ll undoubtedly catch Stu Peak at its finest. Higher tides work best with a northeast wind.
Farther on up the beach is a temperamental sandbar area directly in front of the Devereux Slough, which rarely overflows enough to create an adequate sandbar-forming flow into the ocean. Some rocks here, too. If you walk farther up the beach, the rock factor vanishes and here is where you’ll find the best waves Sands can offer. The sandbars here can get all-time, especially during peaky windswells with a high tide and offshore wind. It can get hollow and well shaped on any tide, depending on the swell type. The bars in the vicinity of the metal thing sticking up out of the sand are usually the best.
Since Sands has more exposure than surrounding spots, no matter how flat the surf may be, you’ll probably find something to ride. When heavy northwest winds are pelting the county’s north coast, you can usually find some fun windswell waves here in the afternoon. Several more sandbars can be scored as far up the beach as you want to walk, which makes it an ideal place to escape the frat jocks surrounding Stu Peak.