Known for its perfect shape and long peeling waves, Rincon is often referred to as the "Queen of the Coast." With the crowd factor involved lately it's easy to think of another name that might be more fitting but one thing is for sure, it is a beautiful place. This is a short time lapse video of what a day at Rincon looks like as a fly on the wall.
Have driven by Rincon dozens of times on my way to / from San Diego. Have never seen it going off. Can anyone comment on how reliable or not the spot is?
The swell angle is more important than the size. It needs a W, WSW to really get in there. South swells can be good as well. Regardless, it is always mobbed. Maybe try surfing there on a big south swell and a full-moon. That could be fun.
I've only surfed there once. It was overhead and epic. It was incredibly crowded. Still beautiful and fun.
I'd take OB any day tho'
Rincon is for the local pickers. Forget weekends. Had it uncrowded many times on off weekdays when I lived in SB; knee high to almost DOH (super rare). Needs specific swell angle, but does go off a lot from Oct to March. Always crowded on great swells. Seen Tom Curran, Tim Curran, Kelly Slater, Bobby Martinez, and then young up and comers from Ventura and SB out there ripping. Nothing like it up here. Truly the Queen.
I surfed Rincon in late October this last year for the first time. It was one of the most incredible sessions I've ever had. It was head high, head and a half on the sets, and very crowded. I only caught 3 waves in about 90 mins, but they were insanely long and very memorable. Part of the fun was watching some of the best surfing I've ever seen. There's nothing like paddling back out and seeing someone coming down the line at you getting barrelled.
I surfed it multiple times when I went to UCSB. It is great but it has always been super crowded. Fortunately, SB isn't hurting for point breaks. We would surf more regularly on bigger days at campus point or c-street in ventura (awesome). More fun was launching a boston whaler at Gaviota just north of SB and putt putting up into the Hollister Ranch where there were gorgeous relatively uncrowded points liked Drake's to surf. The only downside was the odd local scuba guy who would cut your anchor unbeknownst to you until you saw your boat floating out to see. Ahhhh...great days. :)
