July sits in the middle of the southern swell season. The Southern Ocean is at full winter output eight thousand kilometres south, the period is long by the time it arrives, and Santa Catalina is the wave that shows what that is worth.
A reef point does something a beach break cannot: as the swell grows, the wave does not close out, it extends. The takeoff moves further up the point and the ride gets longer, and that is why a serious south swell here is an event rather than a problem. The reef underneath is also why boots are on the list and why this is not the month for anybody unsure of their paddling.
Playa Venao is taking the same swell on sand across a bay, which is the more forgiving version of the same day and the reason a mixed group can split up in the morning and meet for lunch.
