Punta de Lobos Spot Guide

The lefts that march in down the line are consistent, varied and often excellent. Not to mention it's the closest high-quality pointbreak to Santiago. And as an added bonus, the cliffs protect the break from the dreaded -- and almost daily -- SW wind. Lobos itself has many sections and moods, depending on the swell and tide. When it's giant (rideable up to solid 20-foot), the lineup is way outside off the further big rock. The experienced big wave riders take off right in front of the rock, while the rest of the mortals tend to stay just wide of it. When it's double-overhead-plus, the wave just kinda rolls into the bay -- other than sheer size, it's not a super intimidating big wave, as there's no gnarly bowl section. It would actually be good training for any aspiring big-wave riders, as it's pretty deep out there and your chances for utter death are minimal.

When it gets under double-overhead is when things start cooking. The lineup moves further in, and the wave walls and tubes through the whole middle part of the point -- 200-yard-long rides are not unheard of. It's not super fast, so you actually have time to set up the bowl sections, and it's glassy 90% of the time. As it gets underhead, it becomes more sectiony, breaking mainly towards the top of the point in a series of shorter (50-yard) walls.