just ran across this and didn’t see it posted here:
A plank
slate for an oral surfing history
The Surfing Heritage
Foundation is undertaking an effort to collect the oral histories of
wave riders from California and elsewhere. 'We're running out of the
old-timers,' says a surfing writer.
July 02, 2010|Hector Tobar
If
you owned a surfboard 20, 40 or even 60 years ago, and used it often,
there's a group of people in San Clemente who would really like to hear
from you.
Maybe you surfed a stretch of coastline when the waves
were taller than they are today — because a certain harbor and
breakwater didn’t exist back then.
Remember surfing in the winter when all we had was those crappy, thick, short-sleeved, high-necked, beaver-tailed dive suits or nothin’ at all? We kept a fire going on the beach at all times so we could thaw out between go outs.
I remember surfing Stanley’s. I was living in Ventura when they buried it. Also spent a lot of days at Hollywood, C-Street (where Les Wong and Stan Fuji were standouts) and Overhead. The Campbell brothers were tearin’ up Hollywood with their prototype bonzers then (around '70-'71).
That brings back some memories. C-st. in ventura before it was paved, when the sewage treatment plant was right there, and you'd pull up to 4' waves and hope someone else would show up so you didn't have to surf alone. Hookipa before the windsurfers (not such a great memory since I almost got killed there!). Pitas Point before the surf school at Mondo's and the big crowds, when it was relatively unknown and uncrowded. Oil Piers when they were still there. Trestles when the rr tracks was the only way in, and you'd head over the trestle and hope no trains were coming (I haven't been there in so long I don't even know what's there now). Camping at Emma Woods, and paddling out to Overhead when it was just you and a buddy.
I was never in on anything "historic", just me and my buddies having fun and not realizing how different it would all be someday.
''...just me and my buddies having fun and not realizing how different it would all be someday.''
[/quote]
That statement captures the experience of so many of the early pioneers in Hawaii and California, to the groups from the 50's and the 60's. Probably the 70's and 80's too! Who knew, eh? Where is a time machine when you need one?
Huck, you said it…“How different it would all be”. Remember Stanley’s Dinners? How about the coffee shop at County line? We could pull up anywhere on PCH and sleep overnight without any hassles or worries. We were lucky enough to have a spot all to ourselves all the way into the early 90’s and then it seemed to happen overnight it became a full on crowd (with a VERY small take-off zone). Broke my heart. Not the amount of surfers, but the TYPE of surfers. When they tore the houses down and later paved the parking at the point in Vta. AND started charging to park was another HUGE shift.
ps. What happened at Mandos? Talk about Hodads! Who wants to go straight off Adolph?
pps. Trisome, Transome, trisome trome…time for this one to go home. Help Mr. Wizard!
I can say the same for my neck of the woods. It was a small community when I moved here and there were less than 12 surfers in the whole county. The leash had just been invented and most of the locals still didn’t surf the rockier spots. So, by claiming first rights (so to speak) I was the person who named about half the spots in my town. They had NO names when I first rode them. Additionally, the local crew was pretty tight knit and the majority of us hung out together when not surfing. Some of us shared housing, worked together, and took road trips together.No one could get away with selfish or rude behavior in the water, because your buddies would call you on it. Also, you had to make a day trip just to buy wax, back then. A friend owned a surfshop and I bought wax by the case from him, to sell locally. Things really changed here around 88-89. it has gone downhill ever since. Of the original, early 70s crew, only three or four still surf. We are all age 58 or more, now.
Howzit tblank, I can remember just throwing down my sleeping bag near Stanleys and just sleeping til sun rise many times. Yah back in those days you could spend he night at just about any beach. We used to stay for a couple of weeks at a time at Cardiff Reef just sleeping on the sand and nobody hassled you. That was before the 405 freeway was even there and you had to take 101 all the way from where 5 ended. Weren't we the lucky ones to have gotten to live in those free and easy days. Now it's pay ,pay, pay for any where's. I do remember taking a trip in the late 70's to N.Cal and on the way back we pulled over near Montery and just slept in the van on the side of the road, wonde if there are still places to do that any where's on the coast. Aloha,Kokua
Kokua, How you feeling? Stanley’s every now and then these days will show an inkling of its former potential until the swell hits the offramp, but you can still see a bump. How about running the gauntlet getting back on the freeway after a surf? A buddy and I took a surfari up the coast all the way to Brookings Or. four yrs ago and there are still wide open places for camping and surf. We never pulled in to a campground, that was a requisite, go guerrilla style. It was doable as long as you show respect to the local people and area. And yeah, we were VERY lucky to have had those days and also lucky to have future days.
Howzit tblank, Feeling pretty good but a little on the puny side, but i have a lot on my plate now with the move coming next week and packing and shipping everything. Never realized how much I had aquired the last 10 years. I have also been seeing accuppuncer/ alternative doctor and that has been an every other day thing that I have 3 more sessions with and she is doing some good work on me. I like your travel ways and I am the same, just throw the futon in the backof the camper shell and conk out.
Dropkne, I remember saving up $15 to get my first beavertail at Dive and Surf
Kokua good to hear you are feeling better, Keep it up! You give out a lot of really good advice on Sway’s and plenty of guys are learning from you including me.Keep progressing, you are living up to your namesake.
ps. I’ve got stories of making camp after dark only to wake up surrounded by a small herd of BISON?!?!? They were completely sketchy and thought we were going to be trampled to death. Another spot we were attacked by Geese! No Sh#$! Those suckers were mean!
stanley’s-not only great waves but great steak dinners. saturday night dinners at stanley’s were a hoot. shuffle board, shoot the hula dancer game, hang out with neighbors from the local beach communities, rare steak, good times! our friends’ house got removed to make way for the offramp there. when the restaurant relocated to santa paula we were still regulars until it faded away…bummer about oil piers as well, especially for the wind swell days. talk about too little, too late, there is a “plan” to reconnect downtown ventura to the beach kinda like it was pre-highway, via a freeway tunnel. unfortunately all those bitchen houses and buildings that were torn down to make way for the 101 can’t be replaced…mandos-you never would tell anybody you went for a surf there as it was considered a weak, non-surfing wave.however, in the south swell season it could get fun for longboards so we’d “sneak” in sessions. it remained empty into the 90’s when surf schools “discovered” it.now it’s full of trash, diapers, etc. even on the flattest of days a dozen or so will be out , doing what i’m not sure…
“I remember saving up $15 to get my first beavertail”
Bingo! That’s exactly what I paid for mine! Got it from a dive shop in Santa Monica called “Tex’s”. There were several surf shops in the area at the time (Con, Dave Sweet and Weber were the closest) but none of them sold wetsuits or even trunks. Just about all they did sell was boards, ding repair supplies and wax.
Howzit tblank, There is at least one family that use geese as yard guards instead of dogs and yes they can be mean little suckers for sure, I have been chased a couple of times. By the way thanks for the compliment and I love helping those who need and passing on what I have learned over a 45 year plus ride in the world of surfboard building and repairs. Aloha,Kokua
Dropknee, and $15 was a lot of money back then but having that beaver tail was sure warm since most surfers didn't own one. Then came the short Johns.
Kokua, Many yrs ago in '89, on another surfari I was in No. Cal. near Gualala/Sea Ranch and headed inland to get out of the drizzling fog and took a ridge road loop heading north but really rural area. There were wild turkeys and elk around when out of nowhere there arose a HUGE Tibetan Monk monastery, a lot of acreage. How they built such buildings in such a remote place was a blow mind, just getting the material up there must have been a BI%^&! Stationed every 200 feet along the perimeter was a small “goose house” with several per house. Best security system available, they raised a hell of a racket.
We had a beaver tail long sleeve wet suit a long time ago. How many of you out there actually clamped the tail up to the front?
I remember my Dad and uncles using heavy wool sweaters to keep warm when they went scuba diving.
I think it’s the same story everywhere. Beachfront property is like gold, until a bad storm passes through, or an oil spill occurs.
All the empty places we would could camp out at and surf all weekend are now someone’s private property, and they don’t want you near it. If it’s safe to camp at, you probably need a permit or have to pay someone for access.
The new north shore wants to keep the country “country”. They don’t care that they ruined what the rest of us once thought of as the “country”. They just want to keep their little slice of what they have the way they have it now.
Those who know the past, the real story of these places need to get their stories documented. Then it will live on forever.
Howzit tblank, Seems to me that up til around the mid 60's the only people who lived at the beach year round were surfers,fishermen/women and a few har core beach lovers. Then all of a sudden it was the in thing to live at the beach and people East of Ca started moving to the beach and when my brother told me he was moving to Seal Beach in 69' I knew it was going to get ugly since he and his friends hardly never went in the ocean. I knew then that it was time to move more West and Hawaii was the next place on the map. Aloha,Kokua