Launching at Old Port Beach gives you easy access to Port San Luis Harbor. The surf is usually very small or non-existent. You can paddle to the breakwater, land on the pocket beach, and scramble up the hillside to get a view of the lighthouse. This is also a good place to launch from and paddle back toward the town of Avila, around Fossil Point, and into Pirate's Cove. There are some pretty rock gardens to poke around in at the cove, also.