This sheltered fishing pier and boat landing, surrounded by lunar bluffs of Salinian sandstone, is home to some of the best waves on the north coast. When conditions are optimum, the point (which is the main break, on the north side of the pier) is a steep, ledgy takeoff followed by a thick, fast right which either peters into the deep channel or sends you into the sharp rock shelf on the inside (watch out for the rusty ship boiler on the inside during low tide). The wave barrels and can, at any moment, humble you to shore. Needs at least a 6-foot swell to break. When it’s smaller, the wave peels dangerously close to the inside ledge, so fasten your leash tightly. Find the keyhole in the reef along the shoreline (in front of the channel) and paddle out through there. The flip side of the PA coin is the left that breaks on the south side of the pier, best when it’s a foot or two overhead and glassy — great during clean south swells. Watch out for the dangerous rocks and ledges on the inside.
