Mavericks Beach

You anchor off Pillar Point, about 4 miles north of Half Moon Bay, and get a front-row seat to one of the most legendary big-wave surf breaks in the world — this is where massive winter swells draw the world's best surfers to ride waves that can reach 60 feet. The rugged, raw coastline here is more spectacle than swimming spot, as the beach itself is frequently submerged at high tide, but the views of the Santa Cruz Mountains rolling down to the Pacific make the anchorage worth it.