Doheny Beach

In the summertime in Orange County the waves are blown out, sloppy, and flat sometimes...

Doheny seems to be the go to spot to get away fromt he pesky south winds. Doheny was not always the way it is today, with it's various breaks, one being boneyards. There once was a wave named Killer Dana, hence the surf shop being named after it that broke from the foot of the headlands of Dana Point, and onward through what is now a harbor, all the way to the beach called Doheny, or Doho for short. What Doho lacks in size it makes up for in an abundance of peaks. An easy soft wave, but a fun wave still. Surf camps also frequent this beach in the summer, which means you should stay clear of softops, brightly colored "Roxy" or "Girl in the Curl" rashguard wearing kids, and anyone else. There will probably be very few adept surfers out at midday. This means you have a better chance of getting that set wave. It also means you have just as good a chance of getting smacked with a flying board. People new to the sport of surfing can rarely hold onto or control their boards, let alone stand up. When they do stand, they rarely look where they are going, so surf at your own risk, unless you want to get hit with a stray board, as was the case today with me. Have fun out there in the summertime surf, but remember,  your best chance to avoid collisions is to surf near the "awesome" surfers. You may get less waves from them, but they will not kick out their boards at your head. They will share the waves, if you don't drop in on everyone. The surfers without the leashes are usually the ones who know what they are doing, and rarely lose a board. There has been all kinds of swell this week. One day this week, Monday was the big one. When it was double overhead at Trestles, the sets were breaking way outside near the docked sailboats in front of Doheny. I caught an amazing set wave, maybe fifty feet outside where everyone was sitting. I waited awhile for it, but it came, and connected to the inside, all the way past the jetty. It's a wave with many faces, and on really big days, you might even see a trace of the famous...Killer Dana!