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Purisima Point Peak 73.6

#2059 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇺🇸 United States of America · California · near Santa Maria

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Surf score73.6 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days24% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell60% period 11 s+
Typical size1.6 m 5.2 ft median
Water15°C a 4/3 with boots

Best time to surf Purisima Point Peak

The best time to surf Purisima Point Peak is January, November, December. The season runs Nov to Jan. In November the water sits around 16°C, so pack a 4/3 with boots, and the typical wave is 1.5 m. The nearest airport is SBA (81 km) and the nearest town is Santa Maria (28 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan97%41%2.1 m15°C4/3
Feb99%23%1.8 m15°C4/3
Mar100%26%1.7 m14°C4/3
Apr100%4%1.7 m14°C4/3
May100%12%1.8 m13°C5/4
Jun100%12%1.5 m13°C4/3
Jul100%9%1.3 m13°C5/4
Aug100%17%1.2 m15°C4/3
Sep100%25%1.3 m16°C3/2
Oct100%38%1.4 m16°C4/3
Nov99%45%1.5 m16°C4/3
Dec99%41%2.0 m16°C4/3

What is under Purisima Point Peak

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is already 201 m deep, deep right up to the door, so swell arrives with its energy intact. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 478 m against 201 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out201 m
Depth 4 km out71 m
Channel beside it478 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 73.6

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
20.6
Best days 22.4%
13.8
Clean days 18.4%
10.9
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
0.7
Access 4.1%
3.4

The detail

Faces 255° with 53% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 40% of days. Mean peak period 11.7 s. Days over 3 m: 3%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.5 m, with a peak period of 15 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 20%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 34.750, -120.633 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€2,000/ month
typically €1,760 – €2,240
Rent, one bedroom€1,050
Groceries€420
Eating out€240
Getting around€140
Phone + internet€150
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,900/ month
typically €3,430 – €4,370
Somewhere to stay€2,300
Eating out€820
Car, transfers, fuel€530
Data + extras€250
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for United States of America (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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