Windsurfing near Cabrillo Beach
- Royal Palms (4 km)
- Belmont Shore (14 km)
- torrance (15 km)
- Alamitos Bay (15 km)
- Seal Beach/River's End (16 km)
- Sunset Beach (19 km)
Nearby Windguru Forecasts
Cabrillo Beach juts out from the end of Palos Verdes Penninsula. There is both an ocean side and a bay side that is shared with the Port of Los Angeles where the giant cargo ships stroll through. It supposedly used to be called "Hurricane Gulch", probably because the Northwesterly wind can really rip around the corner of the penninsula, particularly about a half mile out to sea from the beach.
The park fee for cars was $7 the last time I was there, which you must pay at the gated entrance. I have heard that it gets very crowded with beach-goers, jet skis, and motorboats on the weekends (although probably when it is warm/summer), but I have only been there during weekday afternoons which have been quite uncrowded.
I have heard that kiting is very challenging here so only advanced folks (e.g. Captain Kirk and Tom) kite here. Most folks kite at Belmont Shore, a few others at Seal Beach, and even fewer at Huntington City Beach. Note: I am not a kiter, so please take this information with a grain of salt.
Windsurfers split into two groups: ocean-side wave sailors and bay-side flat-water rippers.
Ocean-side has a grass rigging area close to the entrance with unload-only parking spots right next to it. Fortunately, full parking is available only a few meters farther down, and Captain Kirk's (http://www.captainkirks.com) parks their windsurfing van in the closest parking spot to the grass. The waves aren't real big and there can be quite a lot of kelp floating about. There are no obstructions on this side to block the cross-onshore wind, but watch out for the jetty to the left as the wind will push you towards the rocks that have claimed many a sail.
The bay-side clan is a friendly group of windsurfers (especially Lorenzo) who typically rig in the parking lot by the sand down at the end of the beach near the fishing dock. The water is fairly flat here and the wind comes ripping across the parking lot to good effect. Beginners--or anyone who struggles to beat upwind--need to watch out not to get dragged out past the fishing dock and into the shipping lanes.
I haven't been to Cabrillo in a while, so perhaps some of the regulars can provide more recent and accurate information.
Christopher Clew First Windsurfing (http://www.clewfirst.com)
Parking is now by the hour and http://www.windsurfdeal.com and http://www.kasail.com Teamriders are there most of the days with demo gear to try out.