Black's Beach in San Diego

Those of us who haven’t yet learned how to surf (like me) often think that the best time of year to surf is summer. For me, part of the problem stems from the movie The Endless Summer that I must have watched about fifty times as a kid. As it turns out, though, summer is often the best time to go surfing in most of the world. In places like Hawaii and California, that’s from November till March, when the storms are more intense and the waves much larger. No wet suits are required in Hawaii, but you’d better put one on in winter in California!

Coastal Living put out a short list of the best winter surfing spots, and I was surprised to see that I was very familiar with two of them and I’d heard a lot about a third. I’ve from San Diego, and I’ve watched the surfers on Black’s Beach many a time. Man, the waves here are huge! The beach at Oceanside Harbor is indeed super wide, and the surfing competitions there are something to see. They happen in summer and in winter, but in winter the competitions are entered only by seasoned pros — you’ll understand why when you see the size of the waves. I would love to visit Hanalei Bay sometime. A friend who went there said she tried surfing for the first time and she said it was amazing, though a lot harder than it looked.

The winter surf season is coming up. Maybe it’s time to take a lesson, put on a wet suit and try something new!

Photo: Edgephotos78