BIG WAVE SURFING AT THE TODOS SANTOS ISLANDS
Within the Bahia de Todos Santos there exists one of the most legendary and electrifying surf Meccas on the entire planet. It is visited by surfers from all over the world and is regarded as a must-surf spot if you are to complete your resume of past conquered venues. Along with Mavericks in California, Hawaii, Tahiti, Peru and Costa Rica, the waves of Ensenada are renowned “big game” within the surfing clan. A trip down the coast highway from the States will now often include a trailer with an expensive wave runner in
tow in addition to the surfboards strapped to your car. Often resented and considered as “cheaters” by many conventional old school paddle-in wave riders, these tow-in surfers have created a new and exciting way to experience some of the biggest waves on the globe.
Back in the mid 1960′s the Windansea Surf Club located in La Jolla, San Diego, discovered a new surf destination. It was 90 miles south of La Jolla and required chartering a boat, as it was 9 miles offshore and only accessible by boat. This was a spot named Killers by the crew, as it was a crushing wave of over 15 feet, if the swell was big enough and from the right direction. If the waves along the shores of Ensenada are breaking large, you can expect to find waves that are 5 to 20 feet bigger at Killers, dependent on the direction of the swell. These waves rumble out of deep water and hit a shallow rock shelf that creates beautiful cascading volumes of aqua green water to break with incredibly good form, perfect for surfing. This deep water to shallow shelf interaction causes the waves to jump to a much greater size than the ground swell that has now traveled many sea miles from the northern storm that created that swell.
These big waves can be seen breaking from the shoreline of the Ensenada area on the extreme north end of the Islands with the naked eye when it is “on”. A horizontal column of white water foam extending around the point can be plainly seen on the days when it’s “working”. If you are visiting the Ensenada area in the winter months and the waves are raging along the shores of the Bahia Todos Santos, you may enjoy a cruise out to see some of the biggest waves in the world, at Killers, Todos Santos Islands, Baja California. Boat charters are available along the Ensenada waterfront to this area complete with surf tour guides which will anchor while you are surfing this magnificent wave.
