Emma Wood

Surf Guide

Christened after one of Ventura's late 19th century settlers, Emma Wood State Beach marks the definitive bend in the coast between Ventura proper and the points and reefs beyond. Although Emma Wood is home to a handful of forgettable waves over a span of two miles, its franchise player is Ventura Overhead, a famous big-wave break that used to be the Sunset Beach training grounds for California's bravest big-wave pioneers. Rumor has it that Bob Simmons used to surf the place alone in the early '50s, as evidenced by the trail of orange peels that he'd leave in the dirt lot overlooking the break. Overhead only breaks a few times a year, but it remains the area's premier big-wave spot -- wedgy, open-face rights that funnel for hundreds of yards and steep, lined-up lefts that can barrel with enough west in the swell. No one really knows what Overhead breaks over: some say it's just a patch of reef that doesn't grow any kelp, others say it's more like an aquatic junkyard -- abandoned cars, old tires and scraps of metal. Whatever brings Overhead to life, it broke the same way for Bob Simmons as it does now. A quality deepwater break that'll fuel the fire of any young big-wave hopeful.