QUEEN OF THE COAST

RINCON

LOCATION• Located in Santa

Barbara, California• Hour and a half

north of LA• Trestles is about 2.5-

3 hours south.• Located on

California’s infamous highway 101

• Southwest usually provides best prices around 200-400 dollars.

• Southwest charges 50 dollars per board bag

ABOUT RINCON

• Was first surfed by Carpentaria lifeguards in the 1940’s.

• Gained popularity across southern California after a 1953 storm was photographed pumping 10-14 foot faces around the point.

• Was a winter alternative to Malibu as Rincon breaks best in the winter months

• Home to Al Merrick, Bobby Martinez, Dane Reynolds, and Tom Curren.

THE BREAK• Rincon has three main breaks across

the entire point.

SLATER AT RINCON

INDICATORS• Located on the north side of

the point• This is where swell first

catches the land and begins to wrap around the point.

• Far walk from the entrance to the beach

• Possible to catch a wave from Indicators all the way through to the Cove and to the highway which is close to a ¼ of a mile.

• In bigger swells the guys looking for the crazy long ride on their guns sit out the back at Indicators.

• On smaller days, short boards dominate this area cause it breaks better than the Cove when its small.

• Slowest part of the wave once it hits the point

RIVERMOUTH • Located below Indicators

and before the Cove• Links Indicators to the

Cove• Breaks just off the

Rivermouth• Fast section of the wave• Used to gain speed before

surfers hit the cove• Easily accessible because

the Rivermouth is mostly sand and doesn’t have as many rocks as the rest of the point.

• Least crowded area of Rincon because it usually closes out on a big swell

THE COVE• The more west the swell, the

better• The more sand in the Cove, the

better the wave• It’s a flawless section of the

wave that starts halfway up the point

• Funnels through the inside part of the point and into the straight part of the beach that runs along highway 101

• Most crowded part of the point and very hard to get position on a wave

• Guys often connecting waves from Indicators and the Rivermouth to the Cove make for a difficult wave to catch in an already crowded area.

• Best chance to surf the Cove is when the peaks aren’t connecting and it’s a smaller day.

PADDLING OUT• Four different ways to paddle out• Walk over rocks at Cove into the lineup• Walk up the point to the Rivermouth and

paddle out across the sand bottom to the second point

• Walk all the way up to the Indicator around the top of the point and walk over the rock/reef section that sits at indicators

THE WAVE• Solid Southwest/west groundswells set up perfect lining walls across

the point•  Most of the year Rincon is dominated by a cobblestone bottom, but

during the winter the far inside section of the cove fills in with sand and offers unforgettable barrels.

• The wave first hits the top of the point. The Indicator is the largest spot at Rincon & probably the slowest as well, but still often provides a great ride. Its outside exposure makes it more susceptible to afternoon winds, so surf early. 

• After Indicators, the wave hits the Rivermouth. It’s an extremely hollow section that flies across the beach. Roughly half of the waves that race through this area will outrace you. The Rivermouth is probably the least crowded option at Rincon only because most people prefer to sit in The Cove

• The Cove is the most flawless part of the point. The curved beach that runs along the cove into the straight beach of rocks that runs along the highway set up for a perfect wall of water that runs half of the points length. Super crowded and congested, the cove has produced some of the best young surfers on the west coast.

SWELL• Best swell directions for Rincon are West, WSW, and WNW• Period less than 15 seconds or else it closes out• Breaks best on a mid tide• Takes a northeast wind for peak conditions• Some swells come from Southern Hemisphere storms that occur all

the way down near New Zealand. These aren’t ideal for Rincon because of the south in the direction of the swell.

• Best surf comes from north and west swells from Alaska and from across the Pacific that light up the point and wrap all the way to the highway.

• Best season is fall and winter. Summer is usually flat except for the occasional south swell.

• Some south swells get blocked by the Channel Islands

SWELL

SWELL

BATHYMETRY• Rincon has a unique bathymetry• Cobblestone bottom• Keeps the break from drastically changing with shifting

sands• The top of the point has kelp patches and seaweed attached

to seaweed that make for a hard and tangled paddle out• The Rivermouth section of the break is a sandy bottom with

less rocks.• The Cove is strictly Cobblestone.• Sand filters in and out of the cove to tweak and break every

so often.• Cobblestones keep the sand bars mostly in place to keep

Rincon the long wave that it is.

HAZARDS• Rocks on the bottom

will hurt if you hit them

• Driftwood• Sharks, not a lot of

them but it is California

• LOCALS• Older guys who have

been surfing Rincon for 30 years wont hesitate to burn you on every wave.

• After it rains, the Rivermouth gets really dirty.

RINCON

DANE REYNOLDS AT RINCON

SOURCES• http://www.surfline.com/surfing-a-to-z/rincon-history_899/• http://travelingluck.com/North+America/United+States/Calif

ornia/_5387619_Rincon+Point.html#local_map

• http://www.beachcalifornia.com/rincon-point-surfing.html• http://

gocalifornia.about.com/od/casantabarbara/p/beach_rincon.htm

• http://www.santabarbaradaytrip.com/santa-barbara-surf.html

• http://surf.transworld.net/1000076917/features/go-there-santa-barbara-california/

• http://surf.solspot.com/content/surf-break-maps/adam-wright/surf-break-maps-rincon-point-santa-barbara-california