I was looking forward to my first visit to this unofficial " surf capital of Washington". I heard a lot about unpredictable coastal weather : the average water temperature ranges from 40 to almost 60 degrees, enormous changes in the tide and wind that create gritty, unstable conditions, and waves that go from small in the summer to overhead in the winter making it tough getting good surf here.
It was all true. When I arrived there in the morning , it was ...depressing. Cold spring temperature, high, powerful wind, and dripping rain almost killed my desire to go into water. Besides, ( as usual ) I showed up unprepared, not even knowing where to surf.Without even knowing it, I was just a mile away from Westhaven State Park, which is " Surf Central at Westport ".
Westport's waves are often too big to surf in the winter, but late spring and summer bring smaller waves, lighter breezes, and more surfers. At some point, I thought I would be the only " crazy " person with a board, but to my relief, there were more people than I expected.
The park has plenty of parking, bathrooms and hot showers. Westhaven offers three main places to surf: The Cove, the Jetty and "the Groins ".As I still consider myself a beginner, I started at at The Jetty, that has lots of nice whitewater waves, and those are the best to learn or to improve your rusty skills on.
The water was cold, but I was ...super hot. I was wearing my diving 7 mm suit, and after spending 1.5 hours, I was sweating and couldn't really notice I was in cold water.
In the afternoon the sun came out, and for a moment it felt like I was in Hawaii or, at least, in California during winter.
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