BajaNomad - What are the biggest waves you've experienced off Baja?

What are the biggest waves you've experienced off Baja?

Ateo - 8-31-2022 at 09:53 PM

Just curious for all you Baja boaters out there....

What are the biggest waves you've experienced off Baja?

Tell us your story.

Of course, we can wander off topic if it's outside of Baja waters.

[Edited on 9-1-2022 by Ateo]

AKgringo - 9-1-2022 at 07:41 AM

On my first trip to Baja in 1986, I spent a month playing around in a 14' skiff, but I never had a big wave experience in it. There were days when I would not put it in the water, but that doesn't count for this topic.

If we get to some of the non-Baja experiences, I could add crossing the bar at the mouth of the Colombia River, another white knuckle day off Kodiak Island, and one crossing Prince William Sound near Valdez!

chippy - 9-1-2022 at 07:53 AM

Surfing or boating? Boating x2. PV to Cabo.Very nautical. 20 ft.seas. Wind and more wind. Tortugas to San Quintin. Took a right between Cedros and Benitos and got waylayed. In a 60 ft. twin screwed trawler. We couldn't keep our port prop in the water for most of the 48 hrs.
Surfing. Pastora in the early 80s. Triple overhead wash thrus.
Outside of baja. Petacalco in the 70s. BIG! Scared shirtless teenagers going for it!

pacificobob - 9-1-2022 at 10:35 AM

I'm currently on my boat in Alaska. Last week icy strait was quite sporty. Or as we say skookum chuck.

JZ - 9-1-2022 at 10:51 AM

Biggest I've seen in Baja were out at Isla Todos Santos. Which is about 7 miles off shore of Ensenada. Took a boat out to it. You could sit outside the surf zone.

Apparently, they get as big as 60 feet.

https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/killers-todos-santos-the...

It was probably 12-14 foot that day. I did a little bunny jump over the tail end of a wave right before we were going to head back. My friend from Alabama told me "That was a waste of my time," in his deep Southern draw.

Well, that and about 5 Pacifico's was enough for me to swing the boat back around to hit a fatter wave. Went in a little too close to the island and saw a monster forming. I was legit worried about getting over top of it. Gave the boat all 630hp. Hit that b#tch and it felt like time was standing still for 2-3 seconds. No music, no engines, nothing.. until we crashed down.

My buddy was laying on the floor laughing and I asked him if he got his money's worth that time.

[Edited on 9-1-2022 by JZ]

surfhat - 9-1-2022 at 11:58 AM

Killers, off of Todos Santos Island, Ensenada when the mainland was 3 or 4 feet, and Killers was easily triple overhead and bigger. I took the long way out paddling up the coast so i could have some idea of what I was getting myself into. A few took the short way out and paddled from the jetty. You takes your chances. Since it was my first time, I played it safe. I managed to get a handful of waves which was plenty for the experience I gained with finding a boat driver in the harbor to let us off on the lee side of the island. Walking over that rise and seeing the surf booming after the mainland was small, was a thrill. This was in the early 90's when I went there with a friend from La Jolla who I met in G-land a couple of years earlier. He had the board length I wished I had.

Cerritos, wintertime in the early 80's when it was so big everywhere, make that too big, everywhere else, but the outer reef off the point was holding and rideable if one get get out. There were many of us on the beach watching and no one had made it out. The current was extreme and pulled you down to huge closeout beach break in a flash. A friend Sam from Oceanside with a 9' plus gun got me to promise to paddle out if he made it. He was the first to make it out that day. Somehow on my 7'6'' I got a break and a few followed after that. To see these thick monsters up close reminded me of what I imagine Waimea would be like. 4 to 5 times overhead and larger.

Getting back in, there was one way only. Drift down to the huge top to bottom closeout beach break and take your beating. There were the usual suspects from the East Cape who came up but only a select few made it out through the channel, such as it was, which could be washed through at any time.

The show from the beach was awesome. No wonder so many came and watched. No wonder so few made it out too. haha

East Cape in the early 90's during the largest hurricane swell I had ever seen, I was camped on the bluff with a million dollar view of huge waves breaking further out and holding their shape better than ever. It looked like a huge Sunset Beach to one who has only seen it in the movies. Easily 15' to 20' Hawaiian. A jet ski would have been the only way to access these beauties but this was before their time.

Even the boys from town were missing this time. This hurricane hit directly and folded my shade tarp against the side of my van for a couple of days before I could fold it back up. It took a couple more days for the surf to become rideable again, but the experience of seeing my chosen home break of sorts hold shape at this size was a reward of its own. I had ridden it huge a number of times before, 4 to 5 times overhead, but this day was in another realm.

There was another huge day when everywhere was maxed out and I drove north and came across some well known big wave guys from town who were about to paddle out to the point at Cabo Pulmo. Way out. haha
I decided to try a point further north of Pulmo and managed to find some reasonable waves for a couple of hours. Reasonable, as in only double overhead. They were long and peeling down an all sand beach. At least I was not skunked with everywhere else booming beyond my experience.

I am sure there are other days that could compare to these, but those are for another time. Peace. love, and fish tacos.

chippy - 9-1-2022 at 12:33 PM

Most peeps know mainland gets it's surf march thru oct. Baja/todos nov thru feb.

Ateo - 9-3-2022 at 03:46 PM

Thanks for chiming in fellow nomads. I was really wondering if anyone had any harrowing boating stories of being out on the Baja Pacific in a storm, or even Sea of Cortez when it gets wilder.

Biggest waves I've seen were at Salsipuedes....triple overheard in front of the campground and I was out on a longboard. Switched to guns and caught the point 10'.

The biggest oceans waves I've experienced were on the way to Hawaii in the Winter of 2010. Got beat to hell in 40' seas for 2.5 days.

boe4fun - 9-4-2022 at 06:56 AM

3M’s is what we called it, about 6 miles north of Ensenada. Somewhere in the mid 60’s, double overhead right point break.

surfhat - 9-4-2022 at 11:32 AM

3M's was so close to the fish fertilizer factory that it could not be missed if anyone had a sense of smell.

I caught it good a couple of times in the head high/overhead range and it was so worth avoiding the crowd just north at the San Miguel campground.

The water quality could have been and most likely was questionable but we were young and indestructible and foolish. Day trips were a common thing back then. I suppose it might still be for some younger folks.

I believe 3M's was later developed and destroyed the break that we knew. When the wind blew the wrong way, it was like being in an outhouse along that small stretch of coastline. San Miguel was lucky to be out of that stink most of the time.

chippy - 9-4-2022 at 12:34 PM

If you thought 3ms stunk it was nothing compared to surfing staxs. That was the break in front of the fish plant :barf:

BajaRat - 9-6-2022 at 10:32 AM

Quote: Originally posted by chippy

Surfing or boating? Boating x2. PV to Cabo.Very nautical. 20 ft.seas. Wind and more wind. Tortugas to San Quintin. Took a right between Cedros and Benitos and got waylayed. In a 60 ft. twin screwed trawler. We couldn't keep our port prop in the water for most of the 48 hrs.
Surfing. Pastora in the early 80s. Triple overhead wash thrus.
Outside of baja. Petacalco in the 70s. BIG! Scared shirtless teenagers going for it!

Todos Santos Island BC
The Hammer 25 plus. While recovering in the ponga I could hear the giant boulders grinding on the bottom as the sets rolled through

Petacalco ! Top to bottom triple overhead, shame they destroyed it. In the 80s we kept running into government officials measuring currents. Today’s sat images show what they were up to, like Killer Dana gone for ever
Lionel :cool:

BajaTed - 9-6-2022 at 11:57 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Ateo

Thanks for chiming in fellow nomads. I was really wondering if anyone had any harrowing boating stories of being out on the Baja Pacific in a storm, or even Sea of Cortez when it gets wilder.

Biggest waves I've seen were at Salsipuedes....triple overheard in front of the campground and I was out on a longboard. Switched to guns and caught the point 10'.

The biggest oceans waves I've experienced were on the way to Hawaii in the Winter of 2010. Got beat to hell in 40' seas for 2.5 days.

Around the point where the LNG terminal is now there is a bay with a peeling left that will hold fourple overhead wave.