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Spot: Black's Beach, CA
32°52′38″N, 117°15′11″W
One of the Top Five surf spots in San Diego County, along with Windansea, Seaside Reef, Trestles and Swami’s. Black’s Beach is a world-class, big daddy beachbreak located between the dry craggy arroyos of Torrey Pines and the submarine La Jolla Canyon.
The Good
One of the best waves in California when it’s on, Black’s is a bit of a freak because it is a beachbreak that can hold considerable size. It is reliable from almost flat to 12-feet and beyond. A lot of very good, smart surfers have fallen in love with Black over the years, from Dr. Ricky Grigg to Evan Slater.
The Bad
The walk down the cliff or along the beach from Shores is grueling but still doesn’t manage to keep the crowds down. Blacks can kick your ass and damage you permanently, and there is even a true story about a guy surfing Blacks who had a dolphin land on him, and put him in the hospital.
There are all kinds of critters lurking in those canyons, including Whitey, who sometimes cruises the shallows for whatever.
Also, Black’s Beach has been a nudie beach from time immemorial, so it’s a haulout for elderly “swingers” who are not embarrassed by their nature.
All in all, a weird and wonderful scene with frequent bouts of epic surf.
The Strange
In 1965, Ricky Grigg lived on the edge of the La Jolla canyon at a depth of 205 feet for 15 days as an aquanaut in the Sealab II program. He was down there with Scott Carpenter, one of the original Apollo 7 astronauts, who was drafted by the Navy to lead the Man and the Sea Program: “We dived out of the lab to 450 feet but never got to the bottom of the canyon,” Grigg said. “Just vertical walls. Awesome. Scary.”
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