Why I like Black's in the winter

[GheePup]

http://www.surfline.com/video/locals...m?videotype=qt

The dolphins even get in on the action. Who was the first being to air the kickout of a wave? A dolphin having fun.

[Vicious]

I miss SD. I've never seen Black's that big! I'll never forget the first time I noticed dolphins 'surfing' the same waves as me just north of the pier in PB...scared the shit outta me, but so cool once I realized it wasn't a shark coming to eat my arm.

[tuffy109]

"why i like blacks in the winter during swells that only come around once every 50 years"

love that cleanup at the end.

[GheePup]

"why i like blacks in the winter during swells that only come around once every 50 years"

love that cleanup at the end.

All i know is I saw it in 2001, 2002 and 2004 at that size and have never seen anyone get a deeper longer barrel in any footage than I saw while standing on the beach at Black's one winter day in 2001 or 2.

[MidwayJ]

Yeah, that isn't THAT big for blacks. To be sure, there's some good size ones in there, especially those cleanup sets, but I think it gets that big at least once a winter if not more.

[pappag]

Seems to be quite a bit of dropping in going on.

[Brocktoon]

"why i like blacks in the winter during swells that only come around once every 50 years"

love that cleanup at the end.

If by "every 50 years" you mean "a couple times every damn year" then I have to agree with you. I went to school right up the hill from Black's and ran down that trail 4-10 times per week depending on the conditions. I scored and scored and scored. Some years were certainly better than others, but every year saw at least a swell or two where the waves got as good as waves can get.

[tuffy109]

i think the waves in the video are a lot bigger than you think.

i'm pretty sure this is the last wave in the video. if you were consistently surfing this type of stuff all winter down in sd, you obviously a) are super human and should've gone pro or 2) lying.

[Brocktoon]

i think the waves in the video are a lot bigger than you think.

i'm pretty sure this is the last wave in the video. if you were consistently surfing this type of stuff all winter down in sd, you obviously a) are super human and should've gone pro or 2) lying.

I'm neither. I didn't say I was surfing those conditions "consistently", as you assert. However, Blacks gets huge a couple times per year. That photo is not a 50 year anomaly, as you stated.

I also didn't say I was taking off behind the peak, pulling into gaping barrels and dominating the lineup. That's the type of stuff you have to do to be considered superhuman and go pro. Do you think all of those guys scrambling underneath that wave are superhuman pros?

I've been out at Blacks when Bryan and Kent Doonan, two superhuman pros, were on 8'6"s and needed every inch of their boards. I was on a 7'2" and dropping in on the shoulders. I've been out at macking Sunset on a 7'6" and out at big Pipeline/Backdoor and Ala Moana on a 7'2". None of that means I should have gone pro because I mostly got worked! I did get the waves of my life, though.

That's how you get good. You go out in gnarly conditions, start on the shoulder and work your way to the peak and get progressively more comfortable with the size and hollowness of the wave. Wave knowledge, paddling ability, and cardiovascular fitness are more important than surfing ability when it comes to coping on huge days.

It's just like skiing. Just because you skied a certain place under certain conditions doesn't mean you are superhuman and should go pro. How did you ski it? What line did you take? How much time did you spend sideslipping? Etc etc.

[Blurred]

Total jong question here, bear with me.....but, what's it like when you beater surfing something that big? Do you just get maytagged really bad and hold your breathe for a while? Or do you get raked along the bottom? Does the weight of all the water knock the wind out of you?

[peterslovo]

Total jong question here, bear with me.....but, what's it like when you beater surfing something that big? Do you just get maytagged really bad and hold your breathe for a while? Or do you get raked along the bottom? Does the weight of all the water knock the wind out of you?

All of the above. Bouncing off the bottom is scary because you are down deep and get rolled around and sometimes don't know which way is up! Getting held down by big waves is an eye-opening experience.

[pointedem]

! Getting held down by big waves is an eye-opening experience.

By eye opening experence, I'm sure you meant scary as shit.

[bklyn]

Surfing is an amazing sport, I'm impressed that the dolphins joined in for the show. Thanks for sharing the video.

[Free Range Lobster]

By eye opening experence, I'm sure you meant scary as shit.

And by scary as shit, he means there is a 100% chance you will drop a big ole pile of poo in your wetsuit. And it will be squishy.

[nutcase]

I'm neither. I didn't say I was surfing those conditions "consistently", as you assert. However, Blacks gets huge a couple times per year. That photo is not a 50 year anomaly, as you stated.

.

I don't know - I grew up in SD and used to surf Blacks all the time. I never once saw it or any other place in SD get quite that big. Unless my eyes are decieving me the wave in that picture compared to the people - that wave has to be around a 30 foot face. Biggest I've ever seen or been out in was around 20 footers in the 98 el nino year - and that looks a bit bigger than that.

[tibaher]

i think the waves in the video are a lot bigger than you think.

i'm pretty sure this is the last wave in the video. if you were consistently surfing this type of stuff all winter down in sd, you obviously a) are super human and should've gone pro or 2) lying.

tellin it like it is!

that's a Rad video

[MidwayJ]

Ah C'mon- lets say it IS a 30 ft. face- then that makes it about 12-15' Hawaiian size. Blacks focuses more swell and is usually a few feet bigger than anywhere else in SD. While it's not consistently that big, it does get that size once or twice a winter. Don't forget that the camera can be misleading. This winter really hasn't been THAT spectacular.

By the way, most of the guys who really charge are NOT pros. They are underground fiends who truly love to be out there when most of us are cringing on the beach (or cliffs in this case). You really have to want it, and big heavy waves like Blacks separate the men from the boys. To be sure, most pros are chargers, but most chargers are not pros. Big beachbreaks like blacks are fucking scary because the wave tends to break in deeper water than it would over a reef. This can translate to longer hold-downs, and no bottom to push off of. Scary scheisse.

[tarkman1]

Blacks can handle every foot of size that the Pacific can throw at it. Yes, it can hold faces on the order of 30 feet. I swear Blacks is one of the few places that I can name that get better that bigger it gets. I know my limitations at Blacks.

I'll pass if it's bigger than double overhead. The wave has more juice than anyplace that I've surf in Southern California. 'Canyon' sets close out the line up. The paddle out is hard. The waves are fast and drops are steep. Getting worked at Blacks, especially when there is size, is just about a certainty. I can't think of one other line up that I blindly follow and scratch for the horizon without looking when I sense the pack moving to the outside.

[the_eleven]

Yup, Blacks has some juice.

A submarine canyon off of the coast means that the swells don't get slowed down when they hit the continental shelf.

A 6' wave will work you plenty hard on the right swell.

[flatNshallow]

And by scary as shit, he means there is a 100% chance you will drop a big ole pile of poo in your wetsuit. And it will be squishy.

has this been lifted for a tag line yet???