Some darned good surfers boat out to Santa Rosa Island to surf point breaks and certain reef breaks, but they are not the best surfer dudes out there. Imagine a towering 25-foot, perfectly formed, wave with a dozen crazy sea lions surfing down the face.
You think our human surfers are good? You think dolphins surfing our beach breaks are good? You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
These whacky pinnipeds race down the face, roll down the face, corkscrew down the face and tumble all over each other down the face of incredible waves. They seem to be grinning ear to ear while they surf — I swear by my tattoo.
I’ve never seen humans surf the spot, though I may not have been there at the right time to see any two-legged surfers take the perilous ride. It can be a nearly unridable wave, unless you are a sea lion.
The spot is Rodes Reef, about a third of a mile off the front side of Santa Rosa Island, east of Brockway Point. It is a lone reef with a high spot that can rip the keel off a deep draft vessel. It can roll or pitchpole a boat that gets too close when a big set of swells moves over the reef.
Sets of open ocean swells come through periodically and get stacked up on the sudden shoaling reef. The waves build fast, break fast and then disappear just as quickly on the backside of the reef which drops off quickly.
I love taking fisherfolk there because the fishing can be great around the pristine reef zone. We catch white seabass, halibut, calico bass, sheephead and shallow water rockfish, all within a quarter mile of the spot. But the amusing part for me is fishing the area with folks who haven’t been there before.
Everything is nice and quiet a peaceful until a set of huge swells come through, and it is usually only a matter of time before a set comes through. All of a sudden, a monstrous wave (reminiscent of “Hawaii Five-O”) forms and breaks with a startling sound like a big-bore rifle shot, just 50 yards or so from the boat.
When I’m fishing on the inside of the reef, the waves are coming straight at us, and I’ve seen people freak out instantly. But the wave dies as it comes off the high spot on the reef and our fishing spot is safe.
Folks love watching the local sea lions surf Rodes Reef. These critters don’t need to break right or break left. They just come barreling down the massive face of that narrow wave like they want to break the sound barrier. When the wave dies, they just swim back around and queue up to try it again. What a life!
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
