Another Day in Paradise
Before
After
Mugu Rock, compared by some to a Samurai rite of passage, is a bad place. People get washed off the rocks here and they last about 1 minute in the water before drowning. This means that it is not the greatest spot to go cliff jumping unless you are a fearless idiot. There are 2 spots where you can land. The first jump is right next to the climb out spot and the other one is in front of the old Pacific Coast Highway support arch. The cliff jumps here are 20-25 feet and one that is just shy of 50 feet. The water depth here varies between 1 foot and 15 feet. The water has to be checked every time as sand piles up after a big wave day and there is a huge boulder field just offshore. The waves are strong enough to move truck sized boulders in even a relatively small swell. The time of day is important and varies with high tide, the safest time to jump. I like high tide for 2 reasons 1)there's more water under you and 2)the swell rises when it is in water as deep as it is tall( i.e. a 3 foot wave starts to rise in 3 feet of water and a 10 foot wave starts to rise in 10 feet of water). This does not mean it is safe to swim here in 10 foot swells which just wash completely over the island and completely submerges the spot where you climb out with a raging torrent of water. I usually have a limit of 3-5 feet with 1-3 feet being optimal.
Skorch
Jesse
F.Y.I. no one has followed me into The Cauldron on any day, regardless of the swells. I like being the only cliff diver daring enough to swim the Cauldron. You want to time this cliff jump exactly because for 2 reasons a) there's more water after a wave crashes than before b) you want to be washed out to sea first and then towards the rocks. It usually takes two current switches to get out of the water. If this happens the other way, you being washed into shore, you will be bashed against the old Pacific Coast Highway slabs and barnacle encrusted ocean boulders. I would advise that only the strongest swimmers, who also do not panic easily, and the suicidally insane should attempt this cliff jump. If there is a crowd here you will only hear about how there's a big rock and you're going to drown in the current...When you jump it usually shuts them up.
Jesse Manning Up!
This place is also unique because it has a fifty foot drop-off almost right offshore. This feature makes it a virtual underwater highway and migrating whales can be seen, in the right season, just off the point of the scenic look-out. Sea lions, pelicans, dolphins and the occasional shark are also common sights as they search for food. The only animal I would share the water with are dolphins, they are natural shark predators and do not view human beings as an easy meal. The sharks, even if you can't see them, follow animals like sea lions and feeding seabirds to get a meal and if they come across your path you become dinner.
Into the Cauldron
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Cliff Jumping Spots!
Port Hueneme Bridge | Mugu Rock