Hi everyone, I'll be coming to SoCal this September on my Honeymoon, and I initially planned to surf Lowers and oter trestles breaks at least for 1 day (09/18). Until I found out that the Hurley Pro Trestles will be held just then. My question to you is, out of experience, how is the crowd affected by the contest in nearby breaks (even further away, like HB)? Is T-Street more crowded because of many people getting to San Clemente for the Event, or does it get less crowded because everyone is at Lowers actually watching the event? or maybe it doesn't change anything? Is Uppers, Church and Cottons more crowded than usual, less crowded than usual (people watching the contest) or is it basically the same? Also, is Huntington Beach and Newport affected somehow crowd wise? Please let me know... it seems my plans for surfing trestles are ruined, unless you tell me that the crowd doesn't get too bad (worse than it already is), or maybe even thins out? I lived in california before, so I know exactly where I need to surf... I just have no idea how the contest will affect the crowds. Thank you! Bruno
Good to know I will surf Trestles alone, hopefully there will be no sharks around. I understand San Clemente has no surfers at all, California does not suit surfing very well, specially trestles, the breaks suck. I know, I've surfed Trestles like 100 times before. but seriously, as for Encinitas, my one concern is that most of the breaks need a NW swell to work properly (other wise it gets sectiony, and really smaller than SW standouts), and for my personal experience surfing SoCal in Sept, the NPAC will only send out a few week pulses, the SPAC still rules by then... Since I will only have one day, I need to take a best bet for consistency. I'm honestly thinking about staying in San Clemente, trying to surf as early as 6am, watch the contest a bit, then maybe go surf T-Street. worst case scenario I'm not too far from Newport and Huntington (swell magnet)... Newport should be firing if there's a south swell and some Santa Ana winds, and Huntington can handle anything thrown at it, specially combos... Decisions, decisions... I forgot to mention, but choosing a place beforehand is specially a concern because I won't bring my own board ($200 airline charges each way for 1 day of surfing, no thanks), so I'll have to rent... You can see how that's a problem, because if I rent in Encinitas, I can't surf Huntington and then return it... I'll have to stick with my first break. If I manage to purchase a good used board, knowing that I'll be able to sell it for less by the end of the trip, then I can just follow the forecast... otherwise I need to rent a board near a consistent spot, such as San Clemente, Newport or Huntington... Any news on how the contest may affect the nearby breaks crowds are still appreciated. Thanks!
****, I need to surf trestles no matter the crowd... I'm watching videos and checking reports, and I'm getting all amped up. The waves only look good in Trestles, everywhere else sucks it seems. If need be, I'll surf Cottons. surfed there plenty of times before, and always had fun... nice looking lefts, and even a few rights, way easier crowd than uppers or lowers. and still better than most other spots in SoCal... I may try paddling out at lowers at least once, drop in on someone if I absolutely can't outpaddle the pros, and run away from there as fast as I can... lol. damn WT...
