Breakwater

About

Doesn't work that often, needs quite a big swell. Is worth checking out when Porthmeor just around the corner is blown/maxed out. When it works well, it suffers from big crowd probs, so catching that early morning surf can be essential!! The lower the tide is the better it will be. The wave is non-existant at high tide, and only starts breaking at mid/low tide.

Atmosphere:
The surfers in St. Ives are generally a pretty tolerant lot, because of the crowds we have to put up with in the Summer. Surfer/bodyboarders relation are quite good and localism isn't really a problem. However! Because there is only one peak at this break, and when it works it is often the only surfable wave around, you get loads of snaking and dropping in going on.

Additional Info:
Paddle out can be long and tedious due to a small rip that sweeps the length of the pier and away from the break. Easiest to jump off the rocks that are parrelel with it. If you get caught in the rip don't worry, it runs into the harbour(which is calm and not very busy).

Location

Access

Drive down the A30 to St. Ives, go into the town centre, and onto the harbour front. There will be two piers, one is considerably longer than the other. Breakwater is behind the longer pier.
Limited parking on the pier.

Walk	Instant access (<5 min)
Public access	Yes
4x4 required	Unknown
Boat required	Unknown

Wave Characteristics

Type	Breakwater/jetty
Direction	Left
Bottom	Sandy with rock
Power	Hollow, Fun
Frequency	Sometimes breaks (50 days/year)
Normal length	Short (<50m)
Good day length	Short (<50m)

Ideal Conditions

Wind direction	SouthWest, South, SouthEast
Swell direction	West, SouthWest, South, SouthEast
Swell size	5ft-6ft - 8ft+
Tide	Low and mid tide
Tide movement	Rising and falling tides