mebe the san francisco residents can dredge a semblance of credibility by finding a photo of Stan Ross…riding …that would truly seperate the cream from the carpet bagger pretenders to the throne…
is there another spot in the sanfrancisco bay area that is named after a surfer… did kelly
Back in 1961 there was a matt surfer named Stan Ross that liked to surf big surf. His favorite spot was at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. He would surf Pacifica beaches whenever Ocean Beach was blown out by the west winds. He was always searching for new places with big waves, it didn’t matter to him if he was alone, he just liked to try new spots with big waves.
One day he came to where we were surfing at Linda Mar Beach and said he found this terrific cove down by the Half Moon Bay airport. Waving his arms frantically, he was describing this fabulous spot with beautiful 12 foot waves peeling off to the left, all makeable, and a permanent channel for an easy paddle to where the waves peaked. We surfers have heard Ross’s comments on other great surf spots before and they turned out to be unridable soup! Back in those days, it was easy to drive up to the missle tracking station at Pillar Point and park on the bluff to check out the cove. Whenever we would go to surf Santa Cruz, we would first check out the cove. Everytime we went there, there was nothing but blown out soup or it was flat! We nicknamed the cove “Ross’s Mirage”. One afternoon we just had a fabulous day surfing the Lane at Santa Cruz and we stopped at Princeton and bought some watermelons and beer and drove up to the cove to celebrate the end of a perfect day of surfing.
I can still recall that day…it was the spring of 1962. The weather was warm, the sun was hanging low and hazy, there was maybe 2 to 3 hours of daylight left. When we got to the top of the bluff, our eyes popped out of our heads. Everyone was quiet as we looked at these beautiful lines of waves coming in and breaking on the submerged shelf. They peaked, then peeled off to the left in a long wall…waves 10 to 12 feet tall! There was no wind to mar the glassy surface, and the water shimmered as the sun showed through the back of the waves. We wasted no time, we grabbed our boards, ran down the hill and really ended a perfect day surfing the cove.
Stan Ross had truly found an ideal surf spot. To this day, the surfers call the place “Ross’ Cove”.
Wow, sounds like a neat little piece of history. I surf ocean beach a lot, but have never seen a mat, too bad. there’s a healthy kneelo population here though that charges, a kayaker or two, and a woman bodysurfer who goes big as well… Anyone mat surf OB? I’d like to give it a go, actually.
I like a diverse lineup…fun watching the different lines drawn…
kelly’s cove – don’t you know this one? named after an old man who used to swim down there every morning, rain, sleet, 10’ surf, or shine. no wetsuit. day in and day out for 20 years. one sunny autumn day, mr. kelly had a heart attack (RIP) just after coming in from his morning swim, hence the name.
Other bay area spots named after surfers – how about down the coast a ways, there is a reef named after a Santa Cruz dentist who pioneered the place and who now still surfs there…
I saw a couple of your references to Ano Nuevo. I used to surf there in the 60s when would hike in a half mile against a 25 knot wind. It was practically a “secret” spot and was often empty besides us. Some guys we referred to as the Pedro Pt. guys would sometimes be there. As you mentioned, eventually the farmer let people drive across his land for easier access. A few years later, I basically quit surfing and only got back to it again about 6 years ago.
Around that time I met a guy in business (computer stuff) who it turns out was the son of the “farmer” and basically grew up on the Ano ranch. He told me he used to push junk cars off the cliff just for the fun of it. I think I vaguely recall rusting car frames on the beach. He told me that the nearby island was originally lush with vegetation until he released rabbits on it in order to have his own shooting preserve. Of course, they multiplied and turned it into a barren rock. He said there was a pretty good left on the island. I guess he became pretty decent surfer and later got into the Hollywood scene as a producer or something.
Mr Curry, a Mr Holt thinks Kelly of Kelly’s Cove was a surfer, before his time. One of the Kelly’s Cove surf grifters, the first. He goes back to the 60s…I’ll ask your shaping mentor the next time I see him, either he or Dickie would be the best bet to know for sure. Jim said Kelly was gone before he came around.
For certain there were lots of Irishmen around the beach.