Howdy gang. I am interning at Save The Waves Coalition and I would ike your guys help with some research. I am trying to research every wave that has ever been ruined all across the world. Therefore, I am trying to get in touch with people who actually surfed these waves before they were destroyed and can give me descriptions of the waves. We are also looking for pictures of the waves before and or after they were destroyed. I have been researching for about 2 weeks now on my own so I figured I would see if you guys had any new spots or spot info. The problem is that I am too young to have seen most of these waves disapear. I greatly appreciate any info and or pictures you guys have. Thanks. www.savethewaves.org. Darren
Darren,
Ventura County, California:
Stanley’s
Oil Piers
South Jetty
There is a bunch of internet info out there…search on Stanley’s in some form will get you the story and photos. Oil Piers too. Don’t know what you’ll find on South Jetty but there are enough other people out there who can fill you in. Good luck on a good project.
Corona Del Mar (Newport Harbor)
“Killer” Dana (Dana Point Harbor)
not only did the offramp wipe out a great surf spot, but the namesake diner as well-it was a funky little joint that served incredible steak dinners and on the weekends it was the eating/party place for those lucky enough to live along that stretch of road.it moved out to santa paula, where it remained open for years.RIP stanley’s…
mundaka
Palomarin trail used to be awesome. A little A-frame in the middle of a tiny little bay just south of Point Reyes. But cattle grazing & ‘forest management’ mean lots of dirt & rocks & slides fill in the little bay constantly now. There’s still a wave sometimes, but now its at the point at one end of the bay. Haven’t seen it in the middle since late '90 - “miracle March (30” of rain in a month) of '91 brought down the whole trail into the bay & it’s never recovered.
Not exactly the same as building jetties or seawalls or freeways, but human mismanagement did it in just the same.
Not sure Mundaka is really gone…they are having a drought so…no rain, no water, no sand transport, more erosion of the bars, the deepening of the bottom, no waves.
The Cove, Westport, Washington. Dredged in '94 (and more recently), it hasn’t been the same. Used to throw quite makable gaping tubes. Now it throws quite unmakable gaping closeouts…Usually.
Perhaps the single most productive consistent wave in the world: Sebastian Inlet, First Peak.
That one break produced more world titles than any other wave. I don’t think we give the waves enough credit.
Greg Loehr has the story. YOU should PM him and get it first hand. By his account and there are professionally taken pictures to prove it that wave was so consistent that for 30 years it broke chest to head high at least 3-4 times a week
perhaps as many as five days a week. YOU should do a study on that one wave and how an industry (surf) grew around it and how an international sport(ASP) was influenced by it. CJ and Damien Hobgood will perhaps be the last to come from it. But this is Greg’s story. His idea. He figured it out, so it belongs to him. Legendary Florida surf photographer Larry Pope has the pictures.
Since they reworked the jetty…it’s just not the same.
Jardim do Mar (big-wave pointbreak) in Madeira was at the center of a controversy for years, and finally was severely diminished by a seawall project. Should be lots of info out there on this one.
Hey Darren,
I assume you already know about Harry’s, the North Baja Hell-wave that was just done in by Shell/Sempra Fuel?
A big THANK YOU to Save The Waves for your effort on that one.
A true Shame though. It’s too bad folks see progress and proffit in that light.
Denniston creek in H.M.B.
La Barre… the French lads will tell you about that one.
Rivermouth in Santa Cruz was way more consistent before the harbor was built.
Pensacola point and the bay. Used to be a really nice hotdog wave up to six feet. Reeling lefthander with great tubes. left in late nineties and has never returned. It was a magical feeling because it sits in the middle of a nature preserve that used to be War betweent the states fort. Called Ft. Pickens. Mark Foo used to rip the little wave to pieces back in the early seventies.
“Malibu” (mouth of Chame river, Pacific Side, Panama)
excellent sandbar barrels - in the throughout the 80s, dumptrucks were sent in to excavate the sand to sell to construction companies - in '87 the river broke out another mouth - consequently the mouth shifted a about 1.5 miles to the West. Pretty much nothing to surf at the new mouth until 1998.
The new rivermouth is working again, but since the swell window shifted, it’s fickle , and the shape is rarely as good as it was. different wave.
Long Beach, California. When I was growing up I heard tales of its classic wave.
corona del mar-a known big wave spot in years gone by…
There was a spot across the channel from Ala Moana Bowls in the early 60s called Garbage Hole that was destroyed when the Ala Moana Park was extended to create a protected lagoon, park and parking lot. You can see a couple of waves at Garbage Hole at the begining of “The Endless Summer” where the late Wayne Miyata takes off on a short hollow right and gets a small, tight tube. Looked like a really fun wave.