CABRILLO BEACH
Windsurfing
Beginner through Expert

Cabrillo Beach is located on the southeastern tip of the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula, 25 minutes from LAX and 10 minutes from Long Beach. An anomaly in the urban wilderness of LA, the feeling you get here is of wide open spaces, including 100 foot high cliffs and a beautiful view of Catalina Island. The most consistently windy ocean beach within 200 miles, Cabrillo has both open ocean conditions and flat water bay conditions on opposite sides of the same beach, making it uniquely versatile for windsurfers of all ability levels.

Also known as "Hurricane Gulch," Cabrillo's geography combines a reliable thermal wind with a venturi booster from 100 foot high cliffs just upwind of the launch. The wind starts mellow in the morning and builds to 15 - 25 m.p.h. in the afternoon, 80% of the days between the months of April to October. You can get to Cabrillo Beach as late as 4:30 PM and still get in a great session, so get your obligations finished early and come on down.

Visiting Los Angeles or San Diego for business  or pleasure? Want a little "quality time" shredding  on the Pacific Ocean during your stay? Captain Kirk's is waiting  for you with the area's only high performance rental equipment, and we have beginner and intermediate equipment as well.

Rentals are available for pick up and drop off at our store, we are 2 miles from the beach with no freeway driving - so you can stick the board in the back of a hatchback or use a soft rack for easy transport.

Beginner Windsurfers
The harbor side of Cabrillo Beach resembles a good sized lake with a nice sandy beach. The best launch is from the area adjacent to the parking lot near the fishing pier and breakwater. This launch provides very flat water and the company of other beginning and beginner - intermediate sailors.

The wind is typically the strongest from 1 to 6 in the afternoon, so we recommend total beginners to be on the water by 11 AM at the latest. If you are taking a lesson (which we highly recommend) we have a 99% success rate at getting our students sailing and having fun on their 1st day!! If you have a friend to teach you, we can provide the right gear to give you the next best chance for a successful 1st day!

Intermediate Windsurfers
Choose from either side of the breakwater depending on the conditions of the day and your confidence level. The harbor side is best for intermediates on days when the wind is really cranking and/or the surf is big on the ocean side. Hang out and watch the water for a few minutes and you will get a good idea of the situation on any given day. Remember that ocean waves are powerful and can damage your equipment, so keep your rig out of the water and be aware if you go into the surf.

Most days the wind is gusty on the outside (ocean side) until you sail out a few hundred yards from the beach where you hit "the blast zone," so named because the wind picks up strongly. Be sure to keep your eyes on the water upwind of you so that you can anticipate the increasing wind and not get slammed ...