8.9 – 8.10.2008 Big Sur, CA

I took my screen name from this surf spot, its called “fullers.” It is hidden from plain view, tucked away at the bottom of some cliffs in Big Sur, along California’s central coast. I wont be drawing any maps to the place. Plenty of people know about it, but it doesnt get much attention and its hard to find unless you know where to look. Its sort of a secret spot. It also has a reputation for grumpy locals, but if you show respect you will be treated in kind.

Its a reef/point setup and takes swell from both directions, N and S. In summer its mostly lefts from the south swells. In the winter its mostly rights marching in from the north pac. It faces almost directly west, so depending on the swell direction it breaks almost perpendicular to the coast, which is kind of an oddity. The reef here is pretty exposed so as long as there is some kind of groundswell activity you can bet its showing at fullers.

Almost every time I visit the area this spot demands a look to see if it is worth the hike down. It has many moods. Depending on the swell, tides, winds, and weather conditions there are many variables that can either make it epic or dreadful. This is one of the few spots where I have actually backed down from a session because it was way bigger than I thought (with nobody out) once I got to the bottom of the cliffs.

When the set waves come in, they push out of deep water onto the reef and are very powerful. I have definitely been thrashed good out there and even slammed to the bottom once. Its very cold water and even in summer I wear my 6mil wetsuit which I usually use back east for surfing in winter in Rhode Island.

The water out there is usually crystal clear, which contributes to the vivid hues of deep blue and green that paint this wave with spectacular colors. Its also kind of eerie. Most central coast spost are usually murky. I dont know if I would rather see whitey (as in great white sharks) or not. I always see lots of life out there though, giant elephant seals, sea otters, huge jellyfish, the list goes on and on.

The hike to get down is a beautiful walk, downclimbing about 1000ft of steep hillside and cliff, you eventually get down to the beach. Looking back up, the cliffs tower over you and the peaks of the coastal range linger high above. Adding to the beauty is a waterfall spilling over the cliffs directly onto the beach, so at the end of your session you stand in it for a good little rinse. This is one magical place, almost unbelievable.

This past weekend there was barely any swell hitting CA, and the forecasts were not talking about anything great. However it had been a little while since my last trip so I figured I would go and just play around up there, and if the waves were not happening there is no shortage of other amazing things to do in Big Sur.

the not so early morning check. nobody out…yet. i woke at the crack of dawn and it was pea soup fog, so hit the snooze for a couple hours and awoke again, this time looking down to a sight that gets the blood pumping. perfect surf with nobody out.

this year there was quite a bit of crazy giant bull kelp, which usually doesnt occur too much at this spot. the inside waves were perfect!

once i got packed up and hiked down there were a couple people in the lineup but hardly a crowd. this set caught everyone off guard.

after surfing a while i got out to warm up and grab some energy bars and water. took a walk down the beach and snapped a few shots.

the tide was coming up.

looking up the beach to the north.

even the little insiders were peeling perfectly with no takers.

when a set wave breaks from way outside you can get a really long ride here. this was a good set for this day. on big days it breaks way farther out in some crazy deep water.

my dream house is atop this cliff.

there was this one grumpy local hanging out on the beach OUOUOUOU.

i guess summer is not so bad 😀