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Sandspit - Break Data
Surf spot travel photo of Sandspit - Sandbar
Description
Now this place gets good. Really good, mate -- like Kirra when it's on, yeah. Created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers some time ago, the breakwater finger sticking into picturesque Santa Barbara Harbor works magic with the local sand flow, arranging those precious grains in such a fashion that they transform ordinary lines of swell into insanely hollow, ass-flyin' rights that can either peel on and on or dump squarely onto your back, depositing you straight into the oh-so-shallow bottom.

Most surfers think that Sandspit only breaks on the biggest of winter swells, but you'd be surprised at how many days it's surfable. You've probably seen photos of Sandspit in the magazines or at its best during the 1982-'83 winter in the video, Off the Wall 2: the crazy backwash, the chocolate water, the frightening double-ups and a guy like Chris Brown or Tom Curren getting shacked off his nut. Believe what you've seen: all of this is part of the game.

Here's how Sandspit works: a set will approach the breakwater, hit the backwash, jack up right in front of some craggy jetty boulders and spin off down the line. The takeoffs are ridiculously steep and are often outright airdrops, so paddle into them like mad, hop up as soon as you can and look to pull-in from ground zero. When conditions are ideal, the wave is a straight tube, nothing else. No room for carves, reentries or floaters. Visualize Kirra, but on a smaller, colder scale. You'll see a lot of kids trying to launch airs at Sandspit, but why risk flopping over an endless, mind-bending barrel? Tuberiding is the name of the game here, but it's also a dangerous place to surf. Not only is the bottom extremely shallow and the lips like jackhammers, surfers have been known to get washed over the breakwater and deposited in fetus position on the other side. Watch that backwash. 		Best Tide:
low
Best Swell Direction:
W, WSW, preferably a swell period less than 15 seconds
Best Size:
waist-high to several feet overhead, when it becomes quite hazardous
Best Wind:
N
Perfect-O-Meter:
7 (1=Lake Erie; 10=Jeffreys Bay)
Bottom:
sand
Ability Level:
advanced
Bring Your:
shortboard, anchor (for the heavy current), Greenough spoon
Best Season:
fall through early spring
Access:
Exit 101 onto Castillo Street and drive straight out to Cabrillo Boulevard/Shoreline Drive, where you make a right, drive for a minute, then go left onto Harbor Way. Park in the marked spaces out by the yacht club, but be aware of the 90-minute parking limit. From your car, you have to walk/run for a while all the way out to the end of the breakwater, which is usually slippery, so be careful.
Crowd Factor:
Minimal when it's small, or you can surf it with 25 to 50 of your best bros when it's firing. The vibe is intense, so react accordingly and move quickly.
Local Vibe:
Not a whole lot of it, but don't drop in on anyone or get in the way.
Bicep Burn:
3 to 9 when the current is running strong (1=1ft Waikiki; 10=15ft Ocean Beach)
Poo Patrol:
7, it's a harbor entrance (1=clean; 10=turds in the lineup)
Hazards:
Backwash, getting swept over the jetty, getting pile-driven into the bottom
Places To Eat
Santa Barbara is reputed for its downtown watering holes and quality eats. Some of the surfer-friendly establishments include Harbor Restaurant on Stearns Wharf (805-963-3311), decorated with all sorts of surf memorabilia and vintage longboards. Something Fishy is a Japanese steakhouse and sushi bar; 500 State St., 805-966-6607. A super tasty, upscale Italian joint is Palazzio Trattoria Italiana at 1026 State St., 805-564-1985. For old-fashioned, dripping hamburgers, steaming French fries and thick milkshakes, waddle on over to Fatburger ("The Last Great Hamburger Stand") at 718 State St., 805-962-8955. The epic of all epic Santa Barbara breakfast places is Esau's Coffee Shop (403 State St., 805-965-4416), dishing up lumberjack portions of the best a.m. foods we all know and love.
Places To Stay
Several lodging options for all levels of budget exist here, although there are no established campgrounds or hostels.

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Things To Do
Downtown Santa Barbara is, well, a bona fide downtown city and an upscale, artsy community, so that automatically means it has everything from self-serve unleaded gasoline to those $199 designer platform shoes for your girlfriend. To pass time, you could stroll around State Street and window-shop or venture out onto the historic Stearns Wharf and marvel at the view straight into the throat of Sandspit.

The Sea Center offers exhibits on the marine resources of Channel Islands National Park. There's a nice bike lane running the length of the shoreline, and it's a good way to feel out the area. You'll dig the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road (805-682-4711), and the zoo is also worth a gander.

You want nightlife? Santa Barbara will keep you busy. Most of the bars cater to an abundance of college types, which means a vast assortment of jocks, geeks, babes and surfers. Finding live music is never a problem, and nearby Santa Barbara City College (805-965-0581) often hosts worldly music and dance performances. There are a lot of rich kids attending SBCC and UCSB with nowhere better to blow their cash than at the bars downtown, so be prepared to encounter some truly idiotic drunkards along State Street. You can indulge in a quasi rain forest atmosphere at Calypso (514 State St., 805-966-1388) which hosts copious live music and a renowned late-night happy hour drinking orgy. A red-boothed, lowly lit joint replete with stiff drinks exists under the moniker of Wildcat Lounge, aka the Shitty Kitty (15 W. Ortega St., 805-962-7970). O'Malleys houses several TVs with a back patio, big dance floor and overpriced drinks; 523 State St., 805564-8904. The best of the bunch is Aloha Sharkeez (416 State St., 805-963-9680), a brand-new Hawaiian-themed restaurant/bar (there are three other locations down south), with 95-cent drinks on Thursday nights.
Surf Shops
The sleek Al Merrick shapes we all know and adore, thanks to Tommy Curren and Kelly Slater, can be fondled within the Channel Islands headquarters at 36 Anacapa Street, 805-966-7213. As well as The Beach House, a smaller surf joint. Another timeless Santa Barbara surfing benefactor is innovator Clyde Beatty, whose wares you can view in person at 208 Gray Ave., 805-965-3180.
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