Breakwater

Edit spot

About

Doesn't work that often, needs quite a big swell. Is worth checking out when Porthmeor just around the corner is blown/maxed out. When it works well, it suffers from big crowd probs, so catching that early morning surf can be essential!! The lower the tide is the better it will be. The wave is non-existant at high tide, and only starts breaking at mid/low tide.

Atmosphere:
The surfers in St. Ives are generally a pretty tolerant lot, because of the crowds we have to put up with in the Summer. Surfer/bodyboarders relation are quite good and localism isn't really a problem. However! Because there is only one peak at this break, and when it works it is often the only surfable wave around, you get loads of snaking and dropping in going on.

Additional Info:
Paddle out can be long and tedious due to a small rip that sweeps the length of the pier and away from the break. Easiest to jump off the rocks that are parrelel with it. If you get caught in the rip don't worry, it runs into the harbour(which is calm and not very busy).

Location

Access

Drive down the A30 to St. Ives, go into the town centre, and onto the harbour front. There will be two piers, one is considerably longer than the other. Breakwater is behind the longer pier.
Limited parking on the pier.

Getting there
Walk
Instant access (<5 min)
Public access
Yes
4x4 required
Unknown
Boat required
Unknown
Wave characteristics
Type
Breakwater/jetty
Direction
Left
Bottom
Sandy with rock
Power
Hollow, Fun
Frequency
Sometimes breaks (50 days/year)
Normal length
Short (<50m)
Good day length
Short (<50m)
Ideal conditions
Wind direction
SouthWest, South, SouthEast
Swell direction
West, SouthWest, South, SouthEast
Swell size
5ft-6ft - 8ft+
Tide
Low and mid tide
Tide movement
Rising and falling tides
Crowd
Week
Empty
Weekend
Few surfers

Dangers

Rips / undertow, Rocks

Videos

None

Nearby spots

St. Ives harbour wall.

0.29 miles away

Direction
Left
Bottom
Sandy with rock
Frequency
Sometimes breaks (50 days/year)

Porthmeor

0.32 miles away

Direction
Right and left
Bottom
Sandy
Frequency
Very consistent (150+ days/year)

Carbis Bay

1.32 miles away

Direction
Right and left
Bottom
Sandy
Frequency
Rarely breaks (5 days/year)