The skinny on 1001 steps

[Brad R]

Well this morning I did a little whirlwind tour de' la Bluff:

1001 delivered some legit head high surf with long clean sets.

- zero logs or debris, nuch to my surprise not a single piece of anything in sight. When I checked out 101 it looks like it all gets deposited down there and in Crescent Beach which was a total log stew

- clean entry via upwind trail (thanks punk kids), and exit via railway pedestrian underpass made for a nice loop.

- jump in upwind using the above mentioned trail (small fence to jump) and take path down through boulders to beach. Time your entry between sets and paddle out 50' or so to clear the boulders.

- surf/drift downwind to the pedestrian underpass tunnel and time your exit at the entrance to tunnel.

- run back up the trail, rinse, lather, repeat!

It is actually really safe provided you stay offshore a bit. The wave is shaped like a hockey stick so you just have to pickup the wave at the short hooked end that is heading into shore (where the best takeoff ramp is) then once you have some speed charge out to the broad shoulder that rolls paralell to shore. I had some really killer loooong rides doing it this way and they packed a nice punch with no closeout and once you are on the shoulder they do not take you into shore. There are also some larger breaking waves if you paddle out another 50' but that would mess up the timing of my little trail routine and the shore waves are not as affected by the wind.

I payed close attention to the wind and tide and have concluded the following:

-When I arrived at about 7:00am or so it was lit from the SE; this wind direction is ideal because the swell still wraps around the point but it is in a small wind shadow right at 1001 steps (if you look on google youlle see the shore bows in slightly at the steps) and it also keeps the waves moving along the shore rather than into it.

- when I returned at 7:45 to surf the wind had shifted a bit to the south which messed up the waves a bit but they were still lining up reasonably well so I went for it and was surfing by a little after 8.

- The high tide (4.5m at 7:00am) was also causing some turbulence as there was some refracted wave energy bouncing back off the boulder wall. Once the tide dropped to about 3.75m (around 8:30) everything seemed to clean up and break real nice peeling waves (still hockey stick shaped though). This also enough water that boulders were a non issue. Things started to deteriorate just after 9:00am and I presume it was caused by the wind backing off and shifting more onshore. Everything had flattened right out by 10:00. I think the waves would still work below 3.5m tide but you would ant to surf further out to avoid boulders.

In summary a SE 30+ when its too snotty to windsurf or it has been blowing all night and is expected to die off in the morning (as is so often the case) with a 3.5-4m tide is poifect!


other thoughts:
a short walk up from 101 looks like it has a sandbar that was pitching some nice waves that were jacking up nicely and rolling along sandy bottom; so no issues with boulders but there was also no beach to walk to this point; ill check it out again at a lower tide when there is some beach exposed.

crescent beach was a mess but there was still the odd surfable set. Looked like alot of fun to windsurf on the south. but shore was a mess of debris.

sullivan point may yield something worthwhile at a lower tide but it looked like a waste of time at first glance. also risk of strong current soooo. theres that.

I am very interested in tryint the White Rock Pier when there is a big SW or NW buit thats another thread for another day!

[C36]

Nice write-up Brad. Thanks for sharing!

[george]

Brad, great work to get some waves. I was there at first light, and it was a bit scary. The water looked hazardous to me and at one point I was standing by the tracks, and a big tree branch broke off and hit the ground a few meters from me. I took that as a sign, and left, lol. I could see the potential though. Nice write up too. That's very helpful. You didn't miss anything at WR pier. I was there just before, and it was a log filled cauldron. Too bad it was night wind/high tide mostly. Next time!
George

[Solardave]

I have found 1001 steps, crescent beach and sullivan point but I need help locating 101. Is it 101 steps or any other word that is part of the name?
Thank much.
Dave C

[C36]

I have found 1001 steps, crescent beach and sullivan point but I need help locating 101. Is it 101 steps or any other word that is part of the name?
Thank much.
Dave C

101 steps White Rock

[Solardave]

Thanks Brad. It looks like it is at the west end of 4th st.
Is that correct?
Thanks, Dave C

[Brad R]

Dave yes 24th ave

[Solardave]

I am headed out to explore 1001 steps, 101 steps and Crescent Beach. I am hoping to surf there someday.
Cheers, Dave C

[Solardave]

I visited 1001 steps, 101 steps, and Sullivan point.

At the bottom of 1001 steps is a trail running parallel to the tracks outside of the BNRR fence. It goes to the concrete tunnel for beach comers to get under the tracks to the rock beach.

Questions Brad:
1. Do you climb the fence from the big rock or the downed tree?
2. When you surf down to the tunnel, do you walk back up the trail and climb the fence again or walk the track bed?
3. Sullivan point sure is easy access. Does the surf break there?
4. Have you had "Swimmers Itch" like the warning sign at Sullivan point was describing?

[Solardave]

This is the "get out" point at 1001 steps.