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Malibu Point is another one of Southern California’s best waves. Even though it has been pumped up again and again by Hollywood, it still manages to captivate most surfers. Even though it is a total fantasy, many surfers would probably pay an arm and a leg at the thought enjoying this break alone without the crowds.
Malibu is a point that is situated about halfway between Point Dume (to the west) and Santa Monica (to the east). Thanks to the path of the Coast Highway it is pretty easy to find…you basically get a great view of it from the highway as you pass the Malibu pier.
The Malibu Point area is actually made up of a couple of State Parks. To the west you have Malibu Lagoon State Park and to the east you have Surfrider State Beach. There are parking lots in either of the state parks but it is generally easier to get to the break if you park in the Surfrider lot.
The wave at Malibu is usually broken up into 3 sections named First Point, Second Point and Third Point. On average swells, the wave doesn’t quite connect from point to point - so the crowd gets spread out through these sections.
Third Point is the actual start of the Malibu wave. The swell wraps into the top of the point and the cobblestones that anchor the break act as a mix of point and reef break. The take-off at Third is a little loosely defined. Depending on the swell/tide/wind, you can shift around sometimes dropping in deeper towards the top of the point or down the line as the wave gets closer to second point.
Second Point is sort of weird mix of a wave…it is basically a section that breaks along part of the point that doesn’t swing smoothly back towards the pier…it actually has a little bit of a bulge that causes it to section a bit faster than the other points. Second Point is much shorter than First or Third but it can get hollow and fast on the right types of swells.
First Point is the final inside section that connects in toward Surfrider beach and the Malibu Pier. The First point section has a very smooth transition and a more natural angle to the shoreline as it hooks back into the bay. It also gets a bit more sand moving out of the Malibu Lagoon…this sand has a tendency to fill in some of the imperfections of the cobbles and smoothes out the wave. First point is generally a longboard spot…particularly when there isn’t a ton of swell in the water. For a longboard wave it is pretty darn good…it sort of looks like it was churned out of a machine…each wave almost the same as the next one.