Ghost Trees is a famed

big wave surfing Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet (6.2 m) high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully su ...

location off the 18th hole of

Pebble Beach Golf Links Pebble Beach Golf Links is a public golf course on the west coast of the United States, located in Pebble Beach, California. Regarded by ''Travel and Leisure'' blog as one of the most beautiful courses in the world, it hugs the rugged coastlin ...

Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

. The wave breaks off the rock-strewn shoreline known as Pescadero Point. On rare winter days with the proper westerly angle, waves are focused by the deep Carmel Canyon to rear up as much as in height. Formerly known as Pesky's, Ghost Trees is considered one of the most dangerous waves in the world due to its slab shape, massive boils, strong current, bull kelp, and the underwater labyrinth of natural rock pillars in the impact zone. It is also frequented by white sharks.

Background

Ghost Trees gets its name from the white and gnarly

Monterey Cypress ''Hesperocyparis macrocarpa'' is a coniferous tree. It is commonly known as the Monterey cypress and is one of several species of cypress trees endemic to California. The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of Califor ...

trees in the area which call to mind ghosts. One of the earliest known surfers of Ghost Trees was Fred Van Dyke, who bodysurfed the wave alone in the early 1960s. In the ensuing decades, a number of locals and visitors to the area paddled out and successfully surfed Ghost Trees, but the consensus was that the wave heaved in too fast and broke too close to the rocks. In the 2000s, Ghost Trees enjoyed international big wave notoriety as surf professionals and locals accessed the wave by towing into it behind jet skis. During this era of tow-surfing, Carmel surfer Don Curry named the wave Ghost Trees after the bleached trunks of dead cypress at the end of

17-Mile Drive 17-Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses, mansions and scenic attractions, including the Lone Cypress, ...

, which passed Pescadero Point. Exposure in the form of surf industry advertisements and magazines created conflict between the professional surfers flocking to Ghost Trees on the rare days that conditions allowed it to be surfed and locals who wanted to keep the region's waves secret to minimize crowds. Peter Davi, one of the area's most beloved watermen, died at Ghost Trees on December 4, 2007. He was found floating in the water unconscious by fellow surfers. Starting in mid-March 2009, motorized personal watercraft, or JetSkis, were banned at Ghost Tree due to the fact that the wave fell within the boundaries of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * {{Cite news , date=2005-03-11 , title=Is Big Wednesday at Ghost Tree the XXL Awards winner? , work=Surfersvillage Global Surf News , url=http://www.surfersvillage.com/news.asp?Id_news=15973 Surfing locations in California Geography of Monterey County, California Big wave surfing Sports in Monterey County, California Tourist attractions in Monterey County, California Pebble Beach, California