Silver Strand Beach

Silver Strand Beach, or typically referred to as “Strand” by the local surfing community, is located in Oxnard, California. It is a mile-long stretch of sand located between Channel Islands Harbor on the north and the ocean entrance to the Port of Hueneme on the south. Oxnard’s great weather during the summer months brings beach goers from all over Southern California and out-of-state. During the winter months, however, Silver Strand attracts another group of people that enjoys the beach: surfers. I myself bodyboard, which is analogous to surfing. I have been bodyboarding Strand and within Ventura County since 2012 and I have gathered vast amount of knowledge through other wave riders and friends, which I would like to share with you.

Silver Strand is infamous in Ventura County for its waves during the winter months. Around October/November the north western pacific starts to become more active, and it generates storms that send waves towards the California coast. The magnitude of waves varies from season to season.

There are basically three sections you can surf at Silver Strand. The farthest south of the beach is called Ship because in the 1970’s an old ship “La Jenelle” sank near that part of the beach. The mid portion of Silver Strand is conveniently referred to as Mid Beach. Lastly, the north end of Silver Strand is referred to as the North End, which is also to our convenience. Interestingly, waves at each section of the beach breaks differently given the swell angle and period of the swell.

Due to Point Conception and the Channel Islands, Silver Strand’s swell window is limited to swells angled from about 280° – 300°. The period of the swell is referring to the amount of time it takes a wave to complete a cycle from crest to crest or trough to trough. Short period swells are swells with periods of 13 seconds or less. Long period swells are about 16 seconds and above. In other words, long period swells have more energy compared to shorter period swells. Ship, which is the southern part of Strand, favors a shorter period swell. As the periods of swell increases the further north of Silver Strand the waves tend to be focused. As a result, during longer period swells waves tend to be bigger and with more energy at Mid Beach and the North End of Strand, and Ship ideally works best with shorter period swells. I personally prefer the mix of both long period and short period swells since it helps spread the crowd out to all parts of the beach. Overall, Silver Strand works on both long and short period which is one of the reasons why Silver Strand is a surfer’s retreat.

I find Silver Strand fascinating for its dynamic attributes of its surfing requirements or to its simple beautiful orange and red sunsets. Surfer, sun bather, or random beach goer, regardless, can agree that this mile-long stretch of sand has brought many positive moments to our lives. If you are ever around Oxnard around November and you want to get some sick waves, you know where to go now.