Sandspit

Edit Spot

About

This spot is world class on a big swell. This place can have an amazing barrel,and is often called the cold water Kirra.

Atmosphere:
There is a ton of Santa Barbara poser tough guy surfers, so try and get there before the crowd or you're guaranteed a headache. Only for expert surfers with tuberiding experience.

Additional Info:
This spot is capable of giving you a 10 to 15 second barrel ride, and watch out for the Backwash.he current on a tide change will keep you padding full speed just to not lose ground, and the take-off is right behind the rock tip of the jetty. It is a must make, I have seen the results of failure including broken legs and serious lacerations. Not to mention broken boards. If you do make the drop and start down the line a few yards you have cleared the area where the rocks are in play, but that doesn't mean you are out of danger. The wave sucks out all the water from the beach just around the corner from the jetty, and often will end up sucking dry as it goes from perfect tube to a mutated warping triple faced beast that regurgitates its contents directly onto sand as hard as cement. Locals know before they go on a wave what this looks like and will avoid it at all costs, watching non locals get destroyed on the wrong wave can be anything from funny to horrifying. On a slack tide of the right height, no wind, and a very strong swell, then Sbar is at its friendliest, and still you wont get any off the peak. When on of the local crews is out they will politely smile and talk with you, but while you scramble to where you think the peak might be makeable they will be going 15 yards deeper then you can imagine and then they will make it dry. Its not that Sbar locals are rude they just want to go as deep as possible and will not suffer moving the peak out to a safer point just for the safety of others.

Location

Access

Park at the Santa Barbara Harbor, and walk down to the end of the Breakwater.

Walk	Short walk (5-15 min)
Public access	Yes
4x4 required	Unknown
Boat required	Unknown

Wave Characteristics

Type	Sandbar
Direction	Right
Bottom	Sandy
Power	Hollow, Fast, Powerful
Frequency	Rarely breaks (5 days/year)
Normal length	Normal (50 to 150m)
Good day length	Long (150 to 300m)

Ideal Conditions

Wind direction	North, NorthWest, East, NorthEast
Swell direction	NorthWest, West, SouthWest, South
Swell size	3ft-5ft - 16ft and over
Tide	Low and mid tide
Tide movement	Rising and falling tides