Last week's chronicle was a collection of pix and a vid about surfing the pier in Ocean Beach, San Diego. If you peddle your bike or drive a few miles south, you come to the cliffs. Here's the story...

Sunset Cliffs Blvd is a major road through Ocean Beach in San Diego County. As you head south, it runs through the typical beach town stuff: restaurants, liquor stores, vacation rentals and the like. But then things change.

Once you clear the bawdy tawdry stuff, the road begins to wind and climb. Along the crumbly terracotta cliffs are lined expensive showcase homes overlooking the Pacific. Each house is more luxurious and dramatic than the last, while below deep reefs push waves from under the surface.

There are many breaks that come alive with the swell levels, otherwise lying in slumber beneath the water. As the swell builds, different breaks awaken and begin to fire according to their preferred tide levels. You better believe this brings the surfing community to the scene!

While any board can ride these waves, they are particularly well suited for long boards. The paddle to the lineup can be lengthy, so a big floaty board is a help. The pull over the lip can also favor the logs, while propelling down the line and over the mushy spots also beg for a ten footer. What suffers in this regard is the possibilities for shredding maneuvers. It's more likely a place to glide for a long long time.

The shorter boards are in the water of course. They seem to sit further inside, closer to the cliffs where the reforms are steeper and more performance oriented. In this way the crowd sorts itself into different catagories with varying equipment at separate lineups. Way on the outside the longest boards sit, waiting extra long between the biggest sets and the largest waves. Once they arrive, these mondo waves show their true nature as big dropping soft shouldered mushburgers.

But it's all good. Ample swell means ample waves and lots of chances no matter your style, or board. The Sunset Cliffs is just that way. For much of the time it's a flat ocean out there. On occasion it absolutely goes off.

CU Out There,

DogMan