Before people start trying to drown me in the slimy rocks that one must scramble down in order to paddle out, let me just preface this entry by saying there is a video game with Ft. Point in it! A surfing video game! I've played it at a friend's house! I got barreled for 2,000 points! The reality of this bizarre anomaly surf spot is that there are very few, if any, barrels served up, and most likely you will encounter grumpy individuals who believe it is their god-given right to demand every inch of every wave that breaks out there.

It has a history for sure! I am sure there are times when all of the conditions magically come together for a day, or a short period of time, but in general, Ft. Point is a crappy wave and thus a crappy surf spot. And this is despite it appearing to be a Northern California version of Pipeline on the video game. Darn it! This is one time where I would actually like the video game to be real life! Oh, but most Bay Area chargers know that there are reef breaks nearby that provide a much better wave, one that might in some minute aspect resemble a barreling wave like Pipeline of the north shore of Hawaii.


This day was a no other choice kind of day that I decided to paddle out with a friend who had never surfed there before. We figured it was so gigantic at Ocean Beach and all the south facing spots were blown out by strong onshore winds, that the reefs and Ft. Point were the only choice to surf within several hours drive any direction. The reefs were out of the question with eight million rippers out all salivating and frothing at the mouth to prove to each other that they are the gnarliest guy out, no I am, no I am! What results from this overcrowded, over-testosterone voodoo rock/reef jacking barrel wave is a very dangerous situation. One that I don't really feel like being part of, so I just ignore the spot unless there is a miraculous day when less than eight million guys are out. Six million will do.

With Golden gate as a massive and intense colorful background, this other slimy-rock point break is a strange and frustrating place to try to catch the ocean's energy. A massive set of boulders sits directly in what would be the best section of a wave that breaks on the outside and has enough pizzazz to bowl through to the inside. This makes catching one all the way through an experience in navigation, not unlike the Spanish explorers must have faced -- MUST . . . MAKE . . . IT . . . AROUND . . . THESE . . . ROCKS!


I utilized the strategy of a longboarder that I saw catching some good ones all the way through in order to get my two good ones that day. He was really getting some good, long rides despite the place not being conducive for that, this short, solid young man with short hair and a glassy-eyed look. So I followed him past the rest of the pack who were sticking inside of the massive boil that announced the under water presence of the boulders in the lineup. Once out to the furthest outside spot where the waves were crumbling I realized my predicament. I was at the mouth of the frickin' Golden Gate. On a going dead low tide. All the water from the entire Bay Area was sucking out through that little gap between the south and north towers of the bridge, and I was bobbing in between them getting sucked out to sea.