Motion Pictures Old Cars + Surfing = Paradise

Grown up in the South Carolina foothills surfing isn't something we knew much about, we did know rivers & lakes, inner tubes, rafts, canoes and boats were the water toy's,along with water ski's.

I was in my late 30's the first time I tried to surf, I managed to swallow a lot of salt water and through divine intervention I didn't drown. HRP

 

Thanks! 6 unfortunately.

 

Hey H,

It is something that just works for some folks. My first time was with a friend of my brother. My brother had gone to Mexico with some other friends and this one friend could not go, but still wanted to surf locally. So, he asked me to go. My mom ok'd it because she liked the friend and knew his mom. We went to the Huntington Beach “cliffs” area on one of those cold, but windy days in his MG sporty car.

He had this great looking rack that he made and the two of us cruised down the coast for our surf adventure. The waves were fairly big and the white water was rolling so consistently, that it was hard to paddle out. So, in my one great (sic) ideas, I took the 9 foot board and shoved it through the white water, thinking it will easily go over the top.

Needless to say, it did not. It surprised me and it came right back into my mouth, knocked me back and cut my outer lip. (I thought I saw stars when it hit me...) My teeth cut the inner mouth area and I looked like a vampire ready for his next meal. The doctor had to put in 8 stitches and my mom was totally mad at my brother’s friend for taking me surfing. And, doing such a dangerous thing.

Jnaki

It became surfing vs. hot rods and my mom had to make a choice... But, I persevered. So, the surf activity and various hot rod adventures went on for almost 50 years. Finally, there was a blank period, when it was time to call it quits.

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-women-go-topless.445421/page-5#post-12679379
The real "Gidget" with her 1951 Buick convertible.

Hey C,

In 1959, we were all in love with Sandra Dee, better known as “Gidget.” She was what everyone, including us, thought a So Cal surfer girl would look like on the beach and in the water. It wasn’t until we actually met some girls that could surf and surf well, that is when we thought back to the movie, Gidget. Of course, those girls we met that could surf, had a difficult time getting away from the Gidget comparisons.

But, in 1961, the one girl we surfed with, had all of the abilities of a good surfer and she was determined to be considered a good surfer, not just a girl. … The idea of a girl that could surf, look good with tons of style and had her own mind at what she wanted to do in the water, willing to trek with us to high powered surf spots in an adventure, and go see surf movies, what more could we ask? IT WAS PARADISE

When we went surfing with our friends, there were comments like, why did you bring her along? When she was out in the water and riding waves with style, those guys ate their words. It was satisfying. When we went to surf movies, she was beginning to get acknowledged in the auditoriums from her experiences at Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. It was like being with a celebrity of sorts.

For some reason, she could have had plenty of sponsors, but chose to just become a better surfer on her own. When she was asked to enter the U.S. Championships, she opted to go to South San Clemente Trestles with several of us. We wanted to be surfing in quality waves without all of the zoo atmosphere of the pier championships. She was also a soul surfer from those early days.

Did we call her Gidget? Not on your life…Besides, she was as tall as us, handled herself quite well, and absorbed those comments well.

Jnaki

Those early memories sparked again with the viewing of the photos and movies we had taken at the Huntington Beach Pier from 1959-64. The Gidget comparisons will always be there as there weren’t too many good surfers that wore bikinis with style. The last information, after all of these years, about her was that she is living in North San Deigo County near the beach… a true surfer girl… Thanks, Sally…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzdzk75Q3Mw&feature=youtu.be

How individual was she? In the film, she gets cut off by one of my friends and she gives that guy a few choice words while still being a good surfer with style.

NOTE:
When going through my old files, my wife’s mom was also a driver of a 47-52 Buick Convertible, but did not surf. The family had just bought a house in 1951 and the photo had a 1951 handwriting on the back. But, they already had a 37 Chevy coupe and a 50 Chevy sedan, so, a new house, and a new car?

Since this photo is the only one and the remaining family members can’t remember if there were different taillights like the 51-52 models we will assume it was “similar.” But, convertibles were built for girls and women to just have fun in their own way. No, my future mother in law did not surf…

SURF TRANSPORTATION 1959-64

 

Great story, Junji!

 

I understand the surf mentality when someone lives in area's where they are near the ocean, I don't understand the surf boards on top of wagons in Knoxville, Tennessee or Utah. HRP

 

Yeah .... no kidding!
Kooks ...
During the summertime, we seem to get about 50% of the population of Arizona showing up at our beaches here (San Diego), attempting to cool off. It's difficult not to laugh at all the SUV's and mommy-vans cruising our coast with pop-out surfboards from WalMart strapped to their roofs, sporting Arizona and Utah plates. We stay home alot to avoid them

 

Believe it or not, there is surfing in New Hampshire along the 18 mile of coastline. Vans without windows were the vehicle of chose when hauling surfboards. Pretty much all year wet suit surfing. Most of the time the swells were around 2 to 4 feet almost like a lake after a speedboat passes by - HA HA. For all of the years that I surf in NH, I can only remember catching on large wave (8 foot swell) and having the ride of my life. I think that on the East Coast, Nags Head gave up the largest swells that I experience. You can always tell a surfer by the area just below his or hers knee cap.

 

Just about any cruise-in in the Piedmont/foot hills you will see someone with a surf board on top of a wagon.

Very similar to all the VW vans that carry luggage & ice chest on top, I always wonder why they don't have room inside. HRP

 

20180331_131907-jpg by Mike posted Aug 29, 2018 at 1:51 PM

My '65 Country Sedan on a trip out to San Diego last year. You'll not likely see surfboards on top of any of my machines unless I have the intention of getting into the water with them.

 

Hello,

Some people of the hot rod / surfer worlds look down on surfboards on top of cars in the middle of Iowa. It is not unheard of and probably won’t be if the wave pool fanatics get major backing for the latest in entertainment surfing destinations. It was tried and many wave pools have tried the backwards wave for entertainment…but is just wasn’t the same thing.

Now, in the middle of California a zillion miles away from the Pacific Ocean, a new design is the sign of things to come. A wave pool that has a real wave rolling toward a destination and that you can ride it like an ocean wave. Except that it is almost perfect. Paradise of the future…

For most surfers, paradise is what you make of where you go and what you learn. When we started surfing, there were some guys that wore those classic beaver tail wetsuits. As much as it gave off some warmth, it looked like a giant beaver on a surfboard, hence the name: “Beaver tail wetsuit.”

One of the most common things to see on a multiple surfboard stack, on top of a car or station wagon, was the black beaver tail wetsuit flapping in the wind. (You guys complaining about just surfboards on a wagon in the middle of Iowa need to add these beaver tail wetsuits to be authentic) The thick rubber was pretty powerful in the smell department. The westuit being wet, did no go over with most car owners, not wanting a “wet seal” in the back seat area or trunk. So air dry was the most common way for transportation.

Note: have you ever tried to get into a wet… wet suit after one session and then going to another spot later in the day for another surf session? It is not the easiest thing to do and the wet/wetsuit just feels awful. (even the modern ones)

In the late 50s, surfers borrowed skin diver’s wetsuits to stay warm in cold climates. We found out that the original skin diver suits were too bulky for freedom of movement on the surfboard. So, the choice was down to one of the shorter wetsuits with a flap to go underneath. It would snap onto the front for protection, warmth and to keep the wetsuit from slipping up/over, when tumbling down a wave or underwater. Early surfers looked like beavers prior to going in the water, if they forgot to snap the enclosures. But in trying on those beaver tail suits, laying down was not too comfortable. In the 60s, most did the knee paddle. You get the beaver tail picture.

So, my brother had a great idea to keep us from freezing where the sun does not shine. Forget the short sleeve, bulky, beaver tail suits. Staying warm down below was the most important, so he got an old long leg diver’s wetsuit and cut off the top and legs. He made adjustments to fit perfectly under our So Cal surf shorts. When paddling, no one was the wiser that we were warm down below. The bare top and the cool winds, we could stand for a couple of hours. But smiles all around helped get better in our surfing skills.

Jnaki

In the two surfer shorts I used in two different years as a teenager, the top of the black wetsuit shorts is seen. The So Cal surfer shorts having moved during the activity. But, usually, it was hidden under our original Katin and Hang Ten shorts. We looked like what most wore in the summer, but it was in the colder ocean water temps of the winter and up the coast in places like Rincon and Santa Barbara. Flexibility was the key and it sure made surfing easier and less bulky.

After a session, standing around drying off kept us warm. The hot rods that went to the beach had to stay somewhat clean. So, driving home, a towel was wrapped around the lower extremities and a jacket was used to keep warm. The insulating factor of the wetsuit bottoms kept the warmth all the way home. What about those guys with the beaver tail suits? They had to take off their beaver tail suits to change into clothes, all the while, freezing their a$$$ off. No one wore beaver tail suits inside of cars. Score one for the two brothers !!!

(My brother wore his under a certified, Everlast Pro Boxing nylon shorts. His undercover item was just a little bit longer than our surf shorts. Today, those Everlast shorts would be down past our knees. Ha!)
My brother and his “beaver tail” friend at the South side, Huntington Beach Pier. 1962
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/look-what-the-rain-uncovered.1044515/#post-11834412

Note: from those early days, the industry has changed and the lightweight flexible suits are perfect for all sorts of water temperature variations. No more beaver tails… Currently, I have a 1mm/2mm full suit for warmer, but cool temps and a 4 mm for cold temps.

Paradise is what you make of a new situation… “Oh, what a feeling…”

 

Leo H. photo
Hello,

These guys pictured are/were most of the crew from Long Beach. Add in Seal Beach local Eddie “Barrymore” Howard and you have a wild teenage bunch of hooligans that could actually surf well. Well, most of them. Most of the surf spots were well known by the traveling surfer, because of the surf being seen from the road. This place was close enough to town, but hidden from the main road by some cliffs. So, it was a long, dusty, bumpy dirt road that led to a plateau overlooking the pristine waves below. (the area chosen for parking was also, hidden from the main road)

The photo was taken in Baja, Mexico where beer usually flowed like Coca Colas and it was cheaper by the case. There are always the good and the bad results because of cases of beer plus surfing…

After a night of steaks on the barbeque, cold beer and then some more, the next day was relatively empty on those pristine waves. GOOD… If I was the Coca Cola drinker the night before, I was usually the only one out riding the next morning. GOOD… Also, most of the others were recuperating in their vans and station wagons from the night before. Lesson learned with a great prize as an end result. BEER and lots more beer, equals a problem getting up for the pristine waves, in the early morning glass off, at this great surf spot. BAD

Jnaki Baja photo James N.

Today, that 1956 Chevy station wagon would be a prized cruiser. In 1963, the station wagon was one of the local friend's cars that were given the location of a semi secret surf spot just North of Ensenada. A daily driver made the long trip South with the stack of boards on top. Share the wealth was good for the soul and our friends from the LB/OC surfing trips, made the day that much more fun.

Jnaki

But, as sad as it is today, all being over 70 and in the last quarter of the main event, (if we are all, still alive), It was camaraderie between friends back then, not the “localism” that prevails, today. In those early 60s surf road trips, it was “the destination AND the journey.” It was hot rods/ cruisers and paradise of a different nature.

 

A talented photographer happened to snap this as I was leaving my local surf spot a few weeks ago, didn’t know the guy but mutual friends tagged me on social media.

 

I was deep into skimboard land in the 80's.......they fit into my cars easier. I had a short board but sucked at it......we did find a Joe Quigg in the 80's at the beach.

 

These hollow-wood "Kook boxes" were popular in the '30's and '40's. The inventor, Tom Blake, had plans in "Popular Mechanics" magazine. This one has a Redwood nose and fir tail, mahogany deck and "V" bottom. Brass slot head screws. The keyhole design is done with stain. Several coats of spar varnish, brush finish. Many of these had club names and/or the owners name.....I built this in remembrance of my Dad....Its going in the water this summer...

 

The plans…

 

Hello,

From the time we used to paddle out around the Dana Point headlands point known as Killer Dana, we looked up and saw this cool home perched out on the edge of a cliff top. Many times, we used to make up stories about how we could buy that house, wake up and check the surf from the porch and make our decisions on where we would surf that day, week or take a road trip.

This is the current view from the porch of the house. But, think back before 1971 and see the Killer Dana surf break right below where the breakwater attaches to the cliff side beach. Then picture the endless sight of surf breaks all along the tall Dana Point harbor cliff areas that were sight unseen from any road normally used for North/South daily travel.

Monarch Beach Point at the top, far left is Killer Dana and into the cove are the other hidden surf spots not seen by the general public. The lower right is the Doheny Beach area and surf spot. The surfers and families at the Doheny surf spot could not see the cove surf breaks and usually stayed in that popular location, instead of making the long walk on the rocky shore at low tide.

"All over Manhattan, (not in New York…)
And down Doheny way,
Everybody’ gone surfing
Surfing USA"

There were many little peak breaks along the reefs from the Killer Dana Point, down the beach to where Doheny State Beach surfing area is now located. Those were relatively unridden, since most went to the parking area at Doheny surf spot. From that beach location, the very few brave souls walked along the rocky shore around the cliff to the hidden treasures that awaited those who made the sacrifice on the tender soles of the feet.

The perspective of depth toward the Killer Dana Point break and the secret spots around the tall cliffs… Look at those surf transportation cars, trucks and station wagons. Not a woody in sight as I had mentioned/posted earlier.

The area was well known to locals, but those that wandered down the steep cliff road to the small pier in the Cove could see the other breaks. Those rocky shoreline hinderances kept many from making the long walk from the northern end of the Dana Point Cove area. Those that stayed, usually paddled out to surf the famous “Killer Dana” point break surf.

When it was not huge, it was a nicely shaped small wave that one could ride, make many moves in the wall and sometimes, make it past the pier to kick out prior to the rocky shore. (The huge waves just had more surface area to do the bottom turns, cutbacks and drop knee turns) Then the long paddle out to the point for more waves. If anyone wanted to try, the walk out to the low cliff edge of the Killer Dana Point was there, but the paddle out was horrendous and sometimes the person in the water got moved back toward the pier where the paddling started in the first place.

Jnaki

What was in the parking lot at the Dana Point Cove?


This craziness started up on the top of the cliff at the original Hobie Surfboard shop on PCH.



Then, after 1965, the Red El Camino was a regular there until the big boulders started getting in place and the water was drained out of the cove area to build the inner island.

This is as close to the edge as we like to get. One day, we will walk out to the exact edge of the cliff top for a whole clear view of the bottom of the cliff and surf. History prevails... Yes, paradise, but also, paradise ... lost YRMV

 

Wish I had a picture but when I bought my 34 the owner had used the car as a "beach buggy" in NJ. First I saw it there was long board sticking through the roof. Car doesn't quite fit that role today.

 

Baby Huey Altered Roadster

Hello,

How does an Altered Roadster fit into a story about surfing? Well, I was a teenager in the middle of getting a good reputation of being an excellent surfer. By then I had a goal of getting sponsored for a tour of the West Coast surf spots, then making it expand to the East Coast and beyond to Europe. My friends thought it was a crazy idea. They laughed at the idea, but, a young kid had some goals…

From the time of going locally to Seal Beach and Huntington Beach for our surf adventures, when it was “break time for lunch,” most walked to the nearest food outlet or diner. I did not have much money, so I always packed my lunch. At first it was a couple of sandwiches and a cold drink, wrapped in aluminum foil to keep them cool in the morning. I wanted fries, but that was expensive at the time. So, out came the cool food I packed the night before.

People laughed at the sight of a homemade lunch, but I was the first one eating great food. I was the first one to take a nap and the first one back in the water for the afternoon surf sessions. Ha! Then as our surfing adventures expanded to other surf spots, my lunch size grew as I knew we would be far away from actual diners or markets.

Sitting on the sand at the U.S. Marine property, Trestles, I had buried my lunch in a deep hole to keep the sun off of my stuff. Also, if we had to run back into the water, it would not get confiscated like the others that just left their stuff on a towel for all to see. The marine patrols loved getting free food/drinks during those patrols. Not our food/drinks… they never realized they were standing on a treasure trove of great home cooking from my mom and sandwiches/drinks.

Jnaki

So, on some of those days when we were all sitting around on the sunny beach, with one eye on the horizon for beach patrols, my lunch was getting rather creative. Now, after raiding my mom’s left over dinners and making several sandwiches, it all went into the largest brown grocery store bag. The food was to keep me supplied since we would be at the Marine Corps beach all day, into the late afternoon. Sometimes, we were walking out and/or driving out at night due to a great afternoon glass off surf session. Those were the days.

While we were on one of those “safe” days sitting around eating lunch, the sizes of the brown sack lunches varied from a cheese sandwich to an old left over dinner or lunch from the previous day/night. But, when I sat down and dug up my lunch bag, it held a myriad of foods I took out of our refrigerator and wrapped them in aluminum foil. It was a treasure trove of good food that my mom prepared the night before or that I created into several sandwiches.

The whole scene was funny and one of my friends was always trying to trade me for what he brought. Sometimes it worked and other times, no way was a teriyaki steak sandwich equal to a peanut butter and jam sandwich. Ha! So, the jokes started as one guy called me a “Baby Huey Duck.” That gave all of us a hearty laughing moment. As I was the only one to have multiple sandwiches and assorted snacks/drinks in my large brown grocery sack. We all watched the cartoons since they came out… ha! So, the name stuck and our friends from Laguna Beach and Newport Beach started calling me “Baby Huey” and then shortening it to just “Huey.”

At surf movies all over, the name stuck and now, it was “Here comes … Huey…” or some crazy friend would yell across the whole auditorium… “Its Baby Huey” as loud as it sounded… a laughable moment for everyone. When I waved to my friend. Ha! Yes, I grew taller than most of my surfing friends during this time, too.

 

A classic station wagon, great friends, great surf adventures… What more could a Spring Break-Easter Vacation bring? Who is that guy way in the background? James N. ???


Hello,

One year, we were all in Baja, Mexico at a surf spot that was hard to find, although it was about a mile or so down the beach from a popular campground. We had been to Mexico plenty of times, but for some reason, my brother was showing extra caution for me. Me!! He told me to stay close in town and the places we visited on our own downtown times. I was already a seasoned explorer in the various cities and locales in our visits to Baja, Mexico.

The normal Spring Break (Easter Vacation) activities had just gotten expanded from a normal 5 day week to a 11 day extended version. We planned out almost everything. So, what we forgot, we could always buy in the nearest town. The excitement was just starting and we were slow and steady, but on our way to an excellent adventure.

But, the extra concern was noted. I had just purchased some red tennies at a local shoe store and they stood out quite well. So, I was asking myself, why the extra caution? I would be easily spotted wearing red tennies in these Baja, Mexico communities…

Then I remembered… in a previous year vacation surf journey, we had witnessed a massive traffic accident coming home from the extended 10 day surf trip. We had a great time and there were plenty of memories of those great waves and discoveries. But, on the way home, we were stopped miles outside of town on a long empty stretch of road. Up ahead were the line up of cars on the side of the road.

Jnaki

A couple of Midwestern college kids were whooping it up in town the night before in town + bars. They were lucky that none of the locals pummeled them while in town. They were acting in a way that was not representative of traveling surfers from So Cal, or anyone for that matter. Obnoxious, crude, and of course, totally could not hold their alcohol. To us, they were an accident waiting to happen, when we saw them acting foolishly in a convertible foreign sporty car. But we left knowing they were total idiots.

It was unusual that we all got stopped in traffic. This stretch of road was away from the ocean and heading back toward the border. But, we did witness the sporty car with two college kids zipping by a long line of cars prior to getting to the road block. When we arrived at the “cloud of dust,” it was them. The car had flipped and there were no skid marks to correct bad driving. The situation was upside down in an open convertible sporty car with no roll bar. That was not a good look.

As it turned out to be, we had to drive home in a somber mood, until we got to a surf spot on the coast in Dana Point. It was not too crowded (waves breaking ay Doheny kept everywhere else empty…)and the waves were pumping in two great spots, Salt Creek Point and Middles. Great waves, but only if you could see them.

Remember, in those days, there was no resort hotel on the cliff top… that came in 1983. Also, there was no paved parking lots or paved road down to the beach. Just a wide open barren dirt area with some bush clumps growing in various places. If anyone drove on PCH toward Doheny Beach, it just looked like a barren cliff area. But, if you knew where the dirt road was, then you could drive down the narrow road to the sand. If the gate was open, pay, park and go surfing. No one from the highway could see or know who was surfing there or if there was any surf at all.

We ended up our surf journey in our “home” grounds having a great closure to our 11 day Spring Break adventures.

As old Archie Bunker used to say… “… Guys like me, we had it made… those were the days…”

 

Save Tressles!

 

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Endless Summer, the Dana Point Film Festival will screen the renowned surf film at sunset on May 5 at Salt Creek Beach Park, where the original photograph for the movie’s iconic poster was staged. The parking lot will be a mass of old surf style cars and station wagons. Perhaps, this So Cal… blue Pontiac station wagon…

The surf documentary, directed by Bruce Brown, follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a worldwide surf trip. A mosaic of the film festival and a bronze statue of Brown were unveiled in Dana Point’s Watermen’s Plaza in September 2019. The documentary was filmed in 1963, screened in auditoriums in 1964 and released internationally in 1966.

“After all these years, the film is still just as important in American surf culture as it was back then,”

“From the staple poster photograph to the deep-rooted history, this surf documentary has paved the way for surfers for years and continues to be the motivation behind finding that perfect wave.”

The original photo for the classic poster taken at Salt Creek Beach, in Laguna Niguel at the time. The far cliff peninsula is the Monarch Bay Beach point.


Hello,

Who could forget this fabulous original song by The Sandals? The theme song to the Endless Summer... that movie made everyone in So Cal (probably everywhere else, too) want to go on a long summer vacation, hitting all of the hot surf spots.

It was one of the best products for the general public to the start of the hectic times in the years ahead. A great way to listen and drive up or down the coast, searching for your own Endless Summer…

“John Van Hamersveld, a 22-year-old Art Center graduate, created the Endless Summer poster; a Pop Art gem featured Brown, August, and Hynson in black silhouette against a blazing Day-Glo sunset—it became the sport’s inescapable image, just as “Endless Summer” itself became the sport’s inescapable tagline.”

We could not fly off to places all over the world, like today's surfers, but we made the best of summer in California. The huge OC just south of LB, Malibu in Los Angeles, Trestles in San Clemente, Windansea in La Jolla, 3 M's and K38 in Baja, Mazatlan on the mainland Mexico, etc. 1000s of miles of driving day and night to get the pristine waves at the best times...

When we went to the premier movie event in Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, it was like a who’s who of our surfing world. The personal narration done by Bruce Brown sitting on stage with his tape recorder hooked up to the large auditorium sound system made it a wonderful experience.

Endless Summer theme song... done by the Sandals just made everyone’s day/night.




Jnaki

Garage clean outs are a good thing. My wife and I have been trying to get her sister to clean out her garage for years. Then one day my wife was visiting and when she got home, she had a story to tell. After countless times of hearing complaints about no room in the garage, her sister gave in and said I need help. My wife jumped at the chance and headed over there. It was not going to be a big deal, as she knew it would take all day just to go through some stuff. “look at this, I did not know I kept….etc” plenty of times was coming up and I would not be needed for the “big stuff.”

But, to our surprise and amazement, she handed my wife this classic wall hanging she has kept over the years. So the story goes, she had no idea that she had this original hanging metal wall decoration from the 1964 classic movie, “Endless Summer.” An original Endless Summer wall hanging with Robert August, Mike Hynson and Bruce Brown images on the metal plate. Now, it graces our garage wall.


Bruce Brown directed The Endless Summer with a $50,000 budget. The documentary film follows two surfers, on a surf trip around the globe. The two young surfers aim to chase summer around the world in a quest to surf abroad. The theatrical version movie was released in 1966 and grossed $20 million.

We certainly were envious of that great world wide trip. But, driving around to different spots, in a 1940 Flathead powered Ford Sedan Delivery, was an Endless Summer for us in So Cal.
In commemoration of the contribution of local, Bruce Brown, the city of Dana Point created a statue of his movie making moments.

Near the big tall palm tree on the middle right of the photo.

As anyone drives up/down Coast Highway through Dana Point, there is a special place. The area near the overhead bridge has several statues to commemorate how much surfing and surfing icons have played a part of the surf world of Dana Point and beyond.

 

Very early Dana Point, Doheny Beach looking Northwest toward the Dana Point Headlands and the Killer Dana Point/Cove area.

Hello,

We had driven down the So Cal coast plenty of times in search of great waves and if so, less people. The farther south we drove, there were actually less people out in the water. There were always plenty of people at the very popular beach spots, everywhere with car access. But the key was access directly from the main Coast Highway running from Santa Barbara in the North, past our house in the Westside of Long Beach, down South headed toward Orange County and the San Diego county beaches.

It was a drive, but well worth the effort. In the winter seasons, we went north to Santa Barbara regions. During the summer and most of the year, since the swells hit most of the beaches south of us from Long Beach, that area was the preferred places to go.
Doheny Beach looking toward the Headlands...

If you can see it back then… The easier it is/was to see the surf break and park close to the water, the more folks arrived at full capacity. The farther is it away from Coast Highway sight lines, the less surfers/beach folks are on the sand.
It rings true for most surf spots in So Cal.

Of course in 1963:
“Inside, outside, U.S.A.
And down Doheny Way
Inside, outside
Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A…”

What’s really amazing is the sheer distance between Dana Cove and where the Doheny State Beach surf break is today. You can see three points in the distance. The first two are now demolished, and the modern-day jetty begins where that first point juts out. The second point was called San Juan Point, or Princess Point, and the surf would break all around this area, including a left on the other side called Meepees.

The third point is Dana Point Headlands. What most people don’t realize is, before development of the Dana Point Harbor and breakwaters started in 1966, West swells would sneak into Doheny. The jetty and breakwater now block those swells.

There were plenty of surf peaks various distances from the popular Doheny Beach surf break heading North along the rugged coastline. (above photo) But, for most, the great peaks could only be seen if any, from the tall cliffs and the Killer Dana Surf spot. Even then, the cliffs hid a lot of those unridden waves.

Jnaki


Our old hot rods, station wagons and family sedans made use of the popular parking on the beach areas. But, so did a zillions of other folks enjoying the So Cal waves and big blue ocean. So, with miles of coastline and plenty of coves, point breaks and knowledge of when the waves would arrive, made it worthwhile to explore and enjoy what nature offered every day, along this portion of California. So Cal at its finest in coastal explorations.

Note:
“For years these bluffs were a detailed research point for me, and one of the reasons I went down into the endless rabbit hole of historical photo searches on the Internet. My dad used to talk about riding perfect, glassy waves at Dana Point Cove. Severson had one great shot of the place, and my grandfather had another taken from the other direction, so I always wondered, “What the heck happened?”

“Come to find out, not many people took photos of these now-extinct bluffs. Then one day, I was working on my Facebook page — “Historic Dana Point Surf Break” — when Ron Church’s daughter Tani messaged me saying she wanted to share some never-used photos that her dad took of Doheny to Dana if I’d like to use them for my page. I immediately responded, “Yes, please!” and she sent me test prints.”

 

Saw the title and thought, "Jnaki"! Hope you are Well, Carp.