El Rancio

Edit Spot
About

This spot is absolutely epic. It keeps its shape from waist high to solid 6 foot bombs. The locals compared it to The Box but I's say it's a cross between the Box and Shark Island. Truly a perfect wave for a bodyboard and a real nightmare on a stick. Enjoy!!

Atmosphere:
No stand ups surf this wave except for Shane Dorian when he was there with the Billabong Odyssey crew so its full of boogers ranging from 12 to 25 years old. Real tight take off zone so be friendly cause your literally on top of each other waiting for the next wave.

You'll see why its called Rancids when the fish factory releases the fish crap into the ocean....

Additional Info:
Surf it hard and the locals will give you respect AND waves. Start on the peak and drop in for a great barrel or race it and hit the end bowl section and fly like superman. Learn some spanish so you can talk to the locals cause they can't understand any english.

Location
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Access

Get a cab from Arica and its 5 minutes south of town in front of the pescado (fish) factory. Get the cab to drop you off at the gates and walk around onto the rocks for 5 minutes and you'll see the wave and a group of boogers sitting on the rocks.

WalkShort walk (5-15 min)
Public accessYes
4x4 requiredUnknown
Boat requiredUnknown
Wave Characteristics
TypeReef (rocky)
DirectionRight
BottomReef (coral, sharp rocks etc.)
PowerHollow, Fast, Powerful
FrequencyVery consistent (150+ days/year)
Normal lengthShort (<50m)
Good day lengthNormal (50 to 150m)
Ideal Conditions
Wind directionSouthEast, East, NorthEast
Swell directionWest, SouthWest
Swell size3ft-5ft - 12ft
TideAll tides
Tide movementDon't know
Crowd
WeekUltra crowded
WeekendUltra crowded
Dangers

Urchins, Rocks, Pollution

Videos

None

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