Sharp Park, Mussel Rock: Ever tried 'em?

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Rant - Sharp Park, Mussel Rock: Ever tried 'em?

I'm forever driving by Sharp Park on the way to points south and going "huh, that doesn't look too bad. Nobody's out...." And then the other day I drove to look at Mussel Rock, which is sort of on the border between south Funston and north Sharp Park, and it looked ... well, it didn't look very inviting on a 10' swell with a lot of wind blowing around. But I wonder about these spots. Does anybody ever surf 'em?

The only time I've ever tried Sharp Park was on a good size and stormy day and I just got *destroyed* trying to paddle out. Never made it out, headed back to the car with tail between legs. But surely it must be doable from time to time? Do we just skip it b/c it's less of a sure thing than spots like Linda Mar?

Below is a mussel rock video shot by a paraglider, which gives a good overview of the beach. No surf on that particular day, though.

rant by madpie

8 comments

Combat Camera
4 weeks ago

Gets decent at time, I have shot in the water there a few time and VERY tough w/o a board. Not LM by any stretch~

madpie
4 weeks ago

here's a nice sharp park video by the way:

edit: hmm, uh, well, here's the link anyhow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhBA6KQnCXs

King of Kooks
4 weeks ago

Interestingly....to me....Mussell Rock was the epicenter of the 1906 earthquake that destroyed San Francisco.

Unfortunately for those of us that surf Ocean Beach, the western side of the fault is moving northward. So a couple million years from now Pacifica will have moved north and completely blocked any swell from reaching OB.

So be nice to those Linda Mar locals.

This is also good news for the sewage pipeline at Sloat. It will be either inland or protected by an estuary, like Point Reyes Station.

Problem solved.

cryptomail
4 weeks ago

LOL KoK is a forward thinker :D

marklukach
4 weeks ago

@KoK strikes again.

tcannon
4 weeks ago

I've surfed Sharp Park. Wasn't particularly good. I was by myself and there was a ton of bait in the water thanks to the fishermen on the pier. Sort of got me thinking that they're luring in little fish, which are eaten by bigger fish. This sort of left me feeling like a small fish, so I cut it short.

It was bigger than it looked from the road and the paddle was more challenging than I expected. Wasn't really worth it. However, I've seen it look a lot better than then when I went out and have passed on it. Seems like one of those places where if the surf is good, it's better someplace else.

Mussel is also known as the Wagon Wheel. I think it's because of the shape of the big rock in the water right there. Same deal: better elsewhere on a good day. That's from about 10 visits just to see if I'd get lucky. So far, no joy.

hasbro
4 weeks ago

My experiences with those spots have been wildly inconsistent at best.
I've scored a handful of of decent sessions. Inbetween have been skunkings: rips with minds of their own, sneakattack shorebreaks, sketchy currents, and -yes- sets that were suddenly way bigger than they looked from shore.
It would take some serious devotion to those spots to be able to read them well.
Too fickle for most folks to bother, I guess.

These people caught it on a good day (back in '06!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ofswNsvRCI&feature=youtube_gdata

deirfinn
4 weeks ago

Sharp Park gets good a few times a year, its a nice fat fluffy wave mostly. The trickiest part of the ride will be getting you and your board out of the water back onto land. The deep water drop off at the beaches edge makes for a pretty sketchy exit. Plan your exit wisely...south of the pier tip: drop off is shallowest near where the bluff begins.