Surf: If it’s big from the S then La Punta in El Claron has a left pointbreak, peeling over sand covered rocks at lower tides. Needs to be big to wrap in and is well protected from S to SW winds. Sucky bits over the bigger rocks, which can protrude, but it never breaks the length of the bay, just hugging the rocks at the beach end or off the outer point. Environment: Only moderately consistent and always quite a few takers from the the nearby city of Valparaiso. Nice vistas through the pine trees on the hill. Surf: General: A long, sweeping bay just north of the little fishing hamlet of Horcon, despite the appearance of being a super long pointbreak, there's actually only a couple spots surfed at El Claron. Towards the end of the point, where the rocks curve outwards, and very rarely, the outside bombie left.

El Claron is a good option once the swell picks way up and the wind starts blowing from the south, as it's protected from both. You could be safely avoiding double overhead death at the beachbreaks by surfing in the lee of the point. The only slight bummer is that the takeoff zone is pretty tight, and Horcon is not a big town (ie, everyone in the water pretty much knows everyone else). Also, it has an annoying tendency to close out when the swell is a little west. But it is one of the closest pointbreaks to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, and worth a check.

Just south of Horcon and north of the petroleum plant is a wonky little right that breaks off a headland. It's not really a good wave, but it's so far tucked in the bay that it's protected from north, west and southwest winds, as well as most of the swell energy. Tides: Low Size: Head high-double overhead Wind: S Swell: S Bottom: Sand, rocks Paddling: Not bad. Spot Rating: Depends on swell direction, the more southerly the swell the better the wave. Access: Park in town and walk back or at the top of the hill and scramble down Crowds: Crowd Factor: Yep Local Vibe: Yep, but as always, if you're cool, not so bad. Smile a lot. Environment: Not bad, can get dirty when it rains. Hazards: Bouncing off the bottom. Season: March-August