How To Surf Rincon, according to Conner Coffin - Stab Mag
1312 Views

How To Surf Rincon, according to Conner Coffin

1. This is about how far you can go on a really good day at low tide. I’ve had barrels all the way through here. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when the sand is good enough it’ll go. It doubles up and you can get long, stand-up barrels. It’s sick. 2. This is where you first come down onto the beach. It’s the most “iconic” part of Rincon. You go down the trail and it opens up and you get your first glimpse of the Cove. There’s a little pit or beach shack that some of the boys have built over the years. Most days they’re down there barbecuing and heckling and marinating. 3. The parking lot, pull off 101 and you’re there. When it’s on it’s a scene with everybody that comes through. You’ll see all these different, crazy boards. I love the energy. It’s like basecamp before everybody heads down the trail and has their own little adventure at Rincon. 4. When it’s head-high at the top of the point the wave will usually have been groomed down to waist-high little reelers by the time they hit this part of the point. I avoid the Cove a lot on days like that because it gets congested, but some days you’ll get those ones where you get a chip in from up top and they end up growing into the inside. This is the mid-way section of the Cove where it can speed up a lot. You’ll find guys posted up on the rocks here taking pictures and filming and what not. 5. When it’s on at the top of the Cove it’s my favourite place to surf. It’s probably the hardest part of Rincon to get a wave, but when you do it’s really good and those waves go all the way to the freeway. You really have to hustle to beat the crowd, but it’s so worth it when you do. 6. The rivermouth is where the sand comes from. If we get a lot of rain, which we haven’t had for a few years, the sand bars can go crazy. I remember this one year it was one huge bank, just absolutely tapered and perfect. We need some rain. 7. This is that in-between zone. It’s not the Cove, but it’s not Indicator either. Usually the waves here will section off and be funky. The bottom’s kind of uneven and it runs a little fast. You can connect waves here, but only certain ones. 8. Indicator’s is straight off the tip of the point. There’s a seawall you can lineup with, but the wave shifts a lot more up here. It’s not like the Cove where it’s just one long line. There are different sections and you can get waves from a lot of different spots. It’s a lot more hunting. There’s not really a right or wrong lineup. It’s more luck of the draw. Roll the dice and see what you get.

news // Mar 8, 2016
Words by Sam Ross
Reading Time: 2 minutes

1. This is about how far you can go on a really good day at low tide. I’ve had barrels all the way through here. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when the sand is good enough it’ll go. It doubles up and you can get long, stand-up barrels. It’s sick.

2. This is where you first come down onto the beach. It’s the most “iconic” part of Rincon. You go down the trail and it opens up and you get your first glimpse of the Cove. There’s a little pit or beach shack that some of the boys have built over the years. Most days they’re down there barbecuing and heckling and marinating.

3. The parking lot, pull off 101 and you’re there. When it’s on it’s a scene with everybody that comes through. You’ll see all these different, crazy boards. I love the energy. It’s like basecamp before everybody heads down the trail and has their own little adventure at Rincon.

4. When it’s head-high at the top of the point the wave will usually have been groomed down to waist-high little reelers by the time they hit this part of the point. I avoid the Cove a lot on days like that because it gets congested, but some days you’ll get those ones where you get a chip in from up top and they end up growing into the inside. This is the mid-way section of the Cove where it can speed up a lot. You’ll find guys posted up on the rocks here taking pictures and filming and what not.

5. When it’s on at the top of the Cove it’s my favourite place to surf. It’s probably the hardest part of Rincon to get a wave, but when you do it’s really good and those waves go all the way to the freeway. You really have to hustle to beat the crowd, but it’s so worth it when you do.

6. The rivermouth is where the sand comes from. If we get a lot of rain, which we haven’t had for a few years, the sand bars can go crazy. I remember this one year it was one huge bank, just absolutely tapered and perfect. We need some rain.

7. This is that in-between zone. It’s not the Cove, but it’s not Indicator either. Usually the waves here will section off and be funky. The bottom’s kind of uneven and it runs a little fast. You can connect waves here, but only certain ones.

8. Indicator’s is straight off the tip of the point. There’s a seawall you can lineup with, but the wave shifts a lot more up here. It’s not like the Cove where it’s just one long line. There are different sections and you can get waves from a lot of different spots. It’s a lot more hunting. There’s not really a right or wrong lineup. It’s more luck of the draw. Roll the dice and see what you get.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Nate Florence On The Pipeline Board Matrix, His Superhuman Status & The Truth About Boats

“I got milked and did some milking, basically.” 

Dec 2, 2025

How West Oz Accidentally Built A Good Fucking Wave

“Apparently they were building this reef for beginners and intermediates, but with swell it's a…

Dec 1, 2025

Liam McNamara Raises Over $100K To Bring Back ‘Wave Of The Winter’

“This is not a private party, it's an open door party. Everybody's welcome.”

Nov 30, 2025

Stab Interview: Kolohe Andino Is No Longer For Sale

Brother on Steko, fatherhood, competition, and setting fire to the legacy brands.

Nov 30, 2025

Kelly Slater + Occy On Why The Returning World Champs Should Break Something

And why we’d love to see a Ryan Burch (or insert other psychedelic foam experiment)…

Nov 28, 2025

Roasted: Harry Bryant On The Edge Of A Typhoon In The East China Sea

Xi runs the state, Haz runs the rivermouth.

Nov 27, 2025

How To Order A Surfboard In 2025

Donald Brink, Chris Christenson, and Jon Pyzel on how not to piss off your shaper…

Nov 26, 2025

A New Rule For The 2026 CT Season Puts Carissa, Steph, + John John At An Immediate Disadvantage

The revamped CT format is gloriously cutthroat.

Nov 25, 2025

From The Indies Trader To Vela: How Boats Are Debunking Surfing’s “Crowded World” Narrative

Torren Martyn + the man who named Cloud 9 discuss the laziness of surf tourism…

Nov 23, 2025

“It’s A Gene Pool Of Cool, But It Comes With Every Bag Of Shit That Goes With It”

There’s a new Fletcher documentary you’ll probably want to watch.

Nov 23, 2025

Ikea Is Not A Surf Brand

Is surfing facing a ChatGPT epidemic?

Nov 21, 2025

EAST With Mikey February, Episode Three

Task: Find bluewater barrels in the USA... in summertime.

Nov 21, 2025

Did You Actually Think Gabby Medina Would Sit Out 2026?

The comeback tour just keeps getting bigger.

Nov 20, 2025

Yet Another World Champ Announces His Return To The 2026 World Tour

JJF is back. 

Nov 19, 2025

Steph Gilmore To Join Carissa Moore On 2026 Tour

13 World Titles rejoined the CT WhatsApp thread this past week. How will they fare?

Nov 18, 2025

A Brief History Of The Aerial ft. Bruce Irons, Christian & Nate Fletcher And More

Dylan Graves unearths the facts, the firsts, and the controversial debates shaping surfing's above the…

Nov 18, 2025

Who Has The Right To ‘Protect’ A Hidden Wave?

In surfing's new-age colonialism, everybody's right and everybody's wrong.

Nov 16, 2025

Watch Snapt 5: The Final Cut

After twenty-two years, this is Logan Dulien's biggest mic drop yet. Probably.

Nov 13, 2025
Advertisement