I know that we are no Bonzai Pipeline or Teahupoo, but here in Pensacola there are some coveted surf spots favored by locals.

Right now the selection is a little limited because there are only a few areas where debris has been removed from the water. Your best bet to keep from brushing up against relocated re-bar and bits of roofs that have found a new home in the Gulf of Mexico is to surf the pier.

Despite having to dodge fishing lines, hooks, and those giant concrete poles the Pensacola Beach Pier has been considered one of the best spots to surf ever since its opening, back when the legs of the pier were wooden and not quite as threatening.

When there is a bump in the water the surfers crowd beside the pilings of the pier, and really it is one of the only spots where you know you will be able to find a spot to park on the beach right now.

“The pier is such a great place to surf because sand bars develop on both sides of the pier. These sand bars make a good break,” Says J.B. of Innerlight surf shop.

On Fort Pickens road just before Peg Leg Petes’ resturaunt (unarguably the best place to get a grilled grouper sandwich in town) look towards the Gulf and high on a sand dune you will see a single white cross. This cross commemorates Spaniard Tristan de Luna’s attempt to colonize pensacola.

To surfers this cross means “stop the car, grab the board and hit the water.”

Although it is a well known surf spot on Pensacola Beach (this spot made it into the wannasurf.com “great surf spots” database), it is somewhat unreliable. The sand bar that makes this break is extremely prone to shifting and why the sandbar develops at this spot is still unclear. Maybe it is divine intervention. After all, if there is a god he/she would definitely create great breaks right?

When you live on a beach where the sand is a lwa y s shifting y o u really never know where the best sandbar is going to be. You never really know where you will find your next wave a fix of rushing water, adrenaline and sunshine. This is part of the excitement of surfing here. There is a real challenge in finding the best surf spot.

There is a real journey every day of searching the coast and scanning the Gulf, reading the water for clues to the perfect wave for the day. This can be refreshing after living in routine where the expected is almost

indefinite. The pier and the cross may be more reliable than other spots, but they can never be considered the best, because here the best is

relative.

The best surf

spot in Pensacola

moves with the tide,

the currents, and the

sand and that is refreshingly unpredictable.

Hang loose. Stay stoked. See you out in the break.