Creepiest surf spots

SteveT

Phil Edwards status
Apr 11, 2005
5,867
2,412
113
Been a while since replying to this thread, but, the only other place that gave me the heebeejeebies was Fiiti Pass on Huahine when one other guy and I took the shuttle out to the pass at 6 in the AM.
Good surf, in the 2-4' range, just fun stuff.
The guy I was surfing with had been there quite a few times and I felt comfortable, until...
A dozen or so black tipped reef sharks decided to swim underneath us in 3 feet of water.
He said, don't worry, there's plenty of stuff to eat besides us, just enjoy the experience.
Good fun for 2 hours until the boat load of Froggie-tea-baggers showed up.
No worries, had it to our selves for breakfast hour.
PPK probably has surfed there :)
 

nowayout

OTF status
Nov 8, 2010
348
171
43
Been a while since replying to this thread, but, the only other place that gave me the heebeejeebies was Fiiti Pass on Huahine when one other guy and I took the shuttle out to the pass at 6 in the AM.
Good surf, in the 2-4' range, just fun stuff.
The guy I was surfing with had been there quite a few times and I felt comfortable, until...
A dozen or so black tipped reef sharks decided to swim underneath us in 3 feet of water.
He said, don't worry, there's plenty of stuff to eat besides us, just enjoy the experience.
Good fun for 2 hours until the boat load of Froggie-tea-baggers showed up.
No worries, had it to our selves for breakfast hour.
PPK probably has surfed there :)
Sounds like my experience with Frigates Pass in Fiji. Me and one other guy shared with with a half a dozen black tips. Wave was amazing though.
 

Iceman

Phil Edwards status
Apr 1, 2002
6,254
1,017
113
NorCenCal
I've been freaked out surfing big swells in town. Once it was just a friend and I, DOH+ and the fog rolls in, couldn't see the cilffs anymore, swell still building.

Another time at the same spot just a couple winters ago, some random guy jumps off the rocks to paddle out and doesn't put any effort into it. There isn't really a set but the inbetween waves are still pretty big. He gets swept by the current and his leash snags a rock just outside the outcropping. Basically starts drowning after each wave, and I'm thinking, "sh!t, now I have to attempt to rescue this guy." Luckily his leash gives way and he's able to scramble up the rocks on the backside, totally frazzled and slightly altered. I check on him to make sure he's okay, then I peak towards the lineup. There is a slight break in the sets and it looks like the only opportunity to get it out. I run down to the rocks, throw my leash on, jump off and sprint to get past the shorebreak, and also not get sucked downcoast which would get me caught inside at the next spot. Made it out unfazed but now witnessed this spot the biggest I've ever been in the lineup for. Had to figure out how to catch a "small" one in!

Besides just being out in certain lineups when the waves are big, the shark vibe is very apparent north and south of town. Only confirmed white shark I've ever seen was surfing ML years ago. Chased the entire crowd out of the water. Never felt too spooked about Manresa until the recent fatality which I more privy to than I would have liked.
 

Chocki

Phil Edwards status
Feb 18, 2007
6,356
6,743
113
Planet Earth
I've been freaked out surfing big swells in town. Once it was just a friend and I, DOH+ and the fog rolls in, couldn't see the cilffs anymore, swell still building.

Another time at the same spot just a couple winters ago, some random guy jumps off the rocks to paddle out and doesn't put any effort into it. There isn't really a set but the inbetween waves are still pretty big. He gets swept by the current and his leash snags a rock just outside the outcropping. Basically starts drowning after each wave, and I'm thinking, "sh!t, now I have to attempt to rescue this guy." Luckily his leash gives way and he's able to scramble up the rocks on the backside, totally frazzled and slightly altered. I check on him to make sure he's okay, then I peak towards the lineup. There is a slight break in the sets and it looks like the only opportunity to get it out. I run down to the rocks, throw my leash on, jump off and sprint to get past the shorebreak, and also not get sucked downcoast which would get me caught inside at the next spot. Made it out unfazed but now witnessed this spot the biggest I've ever been in the lineup for. Had to figure out how to catch a "small" one in!

Besides just being out in certain lineups when the waves are big, the shark vibe is very apparent north and south of town. Only confirmed white shark I've ever seen was surfing ML years ago. Chased the entire crowd out of the water. Never felt too spooked about Manresa until the recent fatality which I more privy to than I would have liked.
I could never surf anywhere there was even a hint of GWS. They now film shark week where I grew up surfing.

At some point I took a scuba class and learned the importance of always wearing your weight belt the same way, knowing how to get it off without having to think about it and I was all might not be a bad idea to start doing that with my leash from now on.
 

tenover

Kelly Slater status
Jan 17, 2003
9,318
1,704
113
Point Loma, CA
I could never surf anywhere there was even a hint of GWS. They now film shark week where I grew up surfing.

At some point I took a scuba class and learned the importance of always wearing your weight belt the same way, knowing how to get it off without having to think about it and I was all might not be a bad idea to start doing that with my leash from now on.
That's the truth about wearing a weight belt. I could tell you a story about my 16 year old daughter doing a deep dive with GWS's at Isla Guadalupe and a cage malfunction that almost turned out VERY bad, but was luckily averted by her quick thinking. I had nightmares for days after that.
 
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Mr Pecker

OTF status
Nov 6, 2021
197
229
43
Took this shot in Oct of prob 02'. Salmon still running and you can just see a small boat out the back- its bigger than it looks. I chickened out. All yours for the taking. Can name this spot because it's 100% self regulating. Never crowded, ok to show up with two cars and 8 bros all at once all yo'ing and bro-ing down and making all sorts of a scene- Klamath river mouth. Bonus: Quite an interesting hanibal story back in the day of one of the Requa regulars.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jarrod-wyatt-mma-fighter-accused-of-ripping-out-friends-heart-and-tongue-pleads-guilty-to-murder/


klamath mouth.jpg
 
Last edited:

hammies

Duke status
Apr 8, 2006
15,587
14,215
113
Took this shot in Oct of prob 02'. Salmon still running and you can just see a small boat out the back- its bigger than it looks. I chickened out. All yours for the taking. Can name this spot because it 100% self regulating. Never crowded, ok to show up with two cars and 8 bros all at once all yo'ing and bro-ing down and making all sorts of a scene- Klamath river mouth. Bonus: Quite an interesting hanibal story back in the day of one of the Requa regulars.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jarrod-wyatt-mma-fighter-accused-of-ripping-out-friends-heart-and-tongue-pleads-guilty-to-murder/


View attachment 124598
What the hell kind of mushrooms was that dude shrooming on that made him cut the guy's heart out? Doesn't sound like your garden-variety psilocybin fungi.
 

Bob Dobbalina

Miki Dora status
Feb 23, 2016
4,261
4,656
113
I used to surf Davenport alone. I got out only once from the left cuz something just didn't feel right. Oddly, never got creeped out at Waddell.

I surfed the left off the reef alone, and those boils definitely get your mind going in a lull.

Oddly, I got creeped out around La Fonda once. My girlfriend and I spent a few days in Northern Baja. I pulled off on a glassy afternoon just to check some beach breaks. I paddled out to an empty lineup with little wedges, but nothing great. In the glare, I saw what looked like a fin in a wave a few peaks over. It did the "sideways movement" rather than the "up and down" movement mid face. My gf (now my wife) is terrified of sharks and she has made it clear. I hung out for a while trying to convince myself it was a dolphin. When I couldn't I paddled in with the distinct thought of the BeachGrit headline "Girlfriend watches watches in horror as surfer boyfriend is mauled by shark: "I told him I was afraid of them"".
 
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r32

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 1, 2005
17,937
9,463
113
Cambria
There are a few creepy spots around here I don't think many LAers would want to paddle out at, no matter how good the waves look. Long paddles over deep water channels and swaying kelp beds, create that distinct food-chain feeling.
 
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menobrah

Gerry Lopez status
Feb 28, 2021
1,024
2,097
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Quatros Casas area in the early '90s buddy and I came across a cobblestone beach with a fun looking peak at high tide. Sheet glass fall day I surfed the left and my pal surfed the right, it was really really kelpy -almost unsurfable and the water was really murky. During a lull a big shadow swept under and past us...we paddled in quick. Spent the rest of the trip surfing around other people at the more popular spots...
 

oneworlded

Administrator
Jun 4, 2004
3,593
2,603
113
Murrica
chrisdixonreports.com
Quatros Casas area in the early '90s buddy and I came across a cobblestone beach with a fun looking peak at high tide. Sheet glass fall day I surfed the left and my pal surfed the right, it was really really kelpy -almost unsurfable and the water was really murky. During a lull a big shadow swept under and past us...we paddled in quick. Spent the rest of the trip surfing around other people at the more popular spots...
I think I have surfed that spot. It is spooky.
 

manbearpig

Duke status
May 11, 2009
29,772
10,245
113
in the bathroom
Davenport is always creepy. I duckdove a wave and opened my eyes to a log underwater, I think I screamed like a little girl.

a slabby point in Australia. No idea what the name was but I’d hike in and camp to try and get it and the beach breaks good a few times. I’d constantly see shark fins and thrashing, even the tidal pools wanted to kill you with those blue ringed octopus I’d see a lot while looking for crabs.

a beach break in Big Sur I got chased out by a great white.
 
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Jan 30, 2014
116
67
28
Santa Cruz Mtns
I surfed the left off the reef alone, and those boils definitely get your mind going in a lull.
^Yes, those boils on the left at Davenport make it the creepiest local spot for me. I don't mind padding Waddell during the pre-dawn dark but those boils at Davenport can do weird stuff between waves — water suddenly surging burping up...ugh.
 
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