Intermediate Spots in SD?

Hi there everyone.

Been reading the forums for a month or so and I Gotta say you have a very clean and helpful vibe going on. Cheers on that. The reason for my reading is my soon to be move from the Baja to SD.

Anyway my wife and myself will be taking a pre-move trip and I wanted to have more info on some of the surf spots I should check out. I am an intermediate surfer (shortboard, regular stance). By intermediate I mean solid snaps, floaters, smooth cutbacks, and starting to get barreled. Also I suck on lefts.

I would love to not be at the wrong place at the wrong time and get yelled at for whatever reason by a pro or some hardcore surfer. at least not on this trip. so if anybody could help out it will be greatly appreciated.

Bless.   

well lets start by asking what kind of board you ride? is it a longboard or shortboard? i find that if you are intermediate and have a short board you wanna be in gnarlier waves say Torrey Pines, shores, or Tourmoline.

you got it right? just being funny. but seriously folks i find it better to go to a longboard beach and take a longboard than a short one. i have ridden a short board at Tourmaline and if its not gnarly, i can't ride sh*t.

well blacks on a strong north swell and is not the place to work on your backside riding.

it's good cause it's a beach break, but when it's big. it's really heavy.
my worst wipeout ever was there. my 7' leash was stretched to 10' and then broke at the swivel. held down for 2 waves.
when i finally made it to shore and found my board i sat on the beach for 30 mins before i walked back to my car.

however when it's not too big you can get some clean rides there

Unless the conditions are really, really good (which is not too often) there aren't really any 'Pro Only" spots in SD.  You will typically find advanced riders at spots like Swamis, Blacks, and Trestles.  Based on your skill description, if you follow good surf etiquette (respect), I’d say you could hit any spot in SD in normal conditions.