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How is the wavesailing near San Diego? Considering a move
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sav1



Joined: 20 Sep 2008
Posts: 50

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:15 am    Post subject: How is the wavesailing near San Diego? Considering a move Reply with quote

Any feedback would be appreciated. A move to San Diego may be in the cards and I need to weigh out all the important things (windsurfing Wink ).

How is the wavesailing in the vicinity of San Diego (frequency of wind, swell, crowds, water temps)? I'm an advanced wavesailor and prefer coastal sailing to the bays. Thank you Exclamation
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Waterat Pat



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 192

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are an advanced sailor terrible! Light wind most of the time means you have to travel to Mex PSC or K39 to sail. However the surfing and mountain biking are some of the best in the west. Miles of beach break surfing means you can escape the crowds with a little effort. Warm water lots of wahines in the break make for a nice vibe. San Diego is one of the most pleasent places to hang at the beach I have ever been.
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capetonian



Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 1196
Location: Florida

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PSC is awesome and the hard core San Diego sailors drive down every time there is a good south swell. However if you have a family you probably won't have the flexibility to join them.
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9288

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't get over this photo from Tourmaline in San Diego. You'd probably have to wait for 5 years for this to happen again.

However k-39 to Raul's can be very nice summer sailing. One hour drive if the traffic is good.



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sav1



Joined: 20 Sep 2008
Posts: 50

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks guys but could you be a bit more descriptive? Terrible is a "relative" term. I live in Tampa FL now and we don't get waves above head high. No sets so there is no period. The season is Dec-March where you will have maybe 3-10 5.0 and under days per month Sad

Is there a sailing "season" with some frequency of 5.5 and smaller days on the coast in the area?
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The surf in San Diego is arguably some of the best anywhere, especially since it picks up all swell directions. Moreover, the lack of wind and the vast number of accessible spots makes it a stand-out in the surfing world. That said, the relative number of windy days with a year with good surf is absolutely dismal. Also, the average sail size needed to plane is huge. You would probably need a 7.0-7.5 to even stand a chance. Of course, if slogging around on a SUP/longboard is your thing, you might be OK.
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MauiMakani



Joined: 07 Aug 1995
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I lived in the San Diego are for a few years back in the mid 80s and directed the main windsurfing school there (San Diego Sailing Center), so windsurfing was my main focus. Like everyone has said, the San Diego and north county area is some of the best stretch of surfing anywhere, but here is what I found the options to be for windsurfing.
1. Some of the great surf breaks like Cardiff Reef, Seaside Reef, San O'nofre can be fun, but only a few times a year on Santa Ana's or storm winds. The rest of the time the wind is around 10mph.
2. The best site for semi-regular sailing was Tourmaline near Mission Beach. There is a point just upwind that boost the normal 10 mph winds up to a schlogable 14. In the years I was there, I was never lucky enough to see anything like the picture, but you could often get 8 or 10 sessions a month of fun schloging around on a 6.0 and a 90-100 liter board in decent quality waist high surf.
3. During the summer, I would try to get down to the K-39 to Raul's stretch which is about an hour south and can have very consistent surf on nice reef breaks with 5.0 to 6.0 planing conditions pretty regularly. I understand that access around K-39 is pretty tough now, but Raul's is still good. Be prepared for hassles such as robbery, and needing to bribe corrupt police over made up charges.
4. Awesome wavesailing at PSC (Punta San Carlos) is a camping trip in the middle of nowhere a days drive south (including a long stretch of really nasty dirt road), or if you have the funds, you can fly down there with Solo Sports and be in the water on their gear in a couple of hours.
If you are an advanced wavesailor, I would plan on doing a lot of surfing, with trips to Mex whenever conditions are good.
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9288

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Like Chandler said. Get a passport and drive and hour-hour 1/2, or north 2 1/2 hours. Otherwise get one of the new Quatro 118 liter quad wave boards and a 6+ meter sail and pray for wind.

San Carlos is only 7 hours from SD. You'll get a years worth of waves and wind in one week.
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bprice



Joined: 21 Oct 2000
Posts: 137

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The San Diego sailing season for "good" wind is winter into early spring when a storm rolls by. Catch the frontal winds typically out of the south or clearing winds from the NW. However, clearing winds can also include dirty water after the storm, so sail with all orifices closed or be ready to load up on meds and suffer. Still, like others have said, San Diego storms are rare events and don't line up with swell very often. The Mexico drive can be pretty time consuming and have it's own issues so it may not happen as often as you would like. I finally moved north for better wind/waves.
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jlederer



Joined: 10 Aug 2001
Posts: 20

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are moving to California for wave sailing, move to northern California/bay area. The wind in San Diego stinks most of the time. The waves are good for surfing but crowded.
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