By Jake Howard
In the Club
California surf clubs are back and they’re coming to Salt Creek
Back in the old days, when boards were heavy and surfers still greased their hair, the surf club scene reigned supreme up and down the California coast. Down in La Jolla, Windansea was the undisputed king of cool. Their team could out surf, out party, and pretty much out brawl anyone. Their club jackets—partially made famous by Mike Hynson in The Endless Summer—were the envy of anyone with a pair of Birdwells. As the Shortboard Revolution fired its first shots at the end of the ’60s, the club scene died out as the “soul” trip took over.
Well, the club scene just came roaring back. Last October, the West Coast Boardriders, a consortium of surf clubs from Orange County, held their first event featuring Huntington Beach versus Seal Beach. The contest was wildly successful in the local communities, so last February they held another contest with Newport, Huntington and Seal Beach facing off. There were nearly 100 competitors in divisions ranging from 14 and Under to 50 and Over.
This Friday marks the third and largest club contest to date. Hosted by the newly formed Dana Point Surf Club, there will be six teams squaring off for the WCBR Championship Cup: Dana Point, San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach and defending champs Newport Beach.
“We are really excited to host the first event at Salt Creek and welcome all the other coastal cities,” said Dana Point Surf Club co-founder Eric Diamond. “Mainly, I would love to see the beach communities come together—young and old, guys and gals, moms, dads, kids—and share some great times on our beautiful coast.”
Diamond’s father was a member of the famous Windansea club.
“The club is like a living museum of beach culture and a wealth of surf history,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for the youngsters—like one of our young team captains, 2017 national champion Danny Kenduck—to learn about this place from the pioneering pro surfers like Mike Cruickshank, and so on. To be able to gather our tribe in such a fun atmosphere is an honor.”
Surfrider Steps Up Toll Road Rhetoric
Fifteen years and five lawsuits later, it’s time to start writing letters again
Threat of development of the 241 toll road has once again forced the Surfrider Foundation and the Save San Onofre Coalition to take action. Reacting to the support that Rep. Darrell Issa has recently given to the contentious highway project, last week, Surfrider initiated a letter-writing campaign in the hopes of educating the elected representative on why exactly San Onofre and Trestles are so essential to the health and well-being of this area.
“Clearly, Mr. Issa forgot about the thousands of people who fought for years to protect this Park and that the Bush Administration and (California) Coastal Commission denied the road in 2008,” reads a clarion statement released by the Surfrider Foundation. “Building a road through State Park is an outdated way of solving traffic.”
The toll road project continues to face staunch opposition. Environmental groups have been spearheading a fight against the six-lane 241 toll road for over 15 years, but even though they’ve come out on top in five lawsuits and numerous public hearings, the Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) remains persistent in their desire to pave over our little slice of paradise. In November 2016, a settlement of a lawsuit established an “Avoidance Area” that would permanently protect the San Onofre State Beach and Trestles area. Issa seeks to undo this.
“I am disappointed that some communities and elected officials have chosen to either remain on the sidelines or literally throw roadblocks in the way of transportation alternatives, but I hope you understand that the majority of South Orange County residents want and need traffic relief solutions and that we strongly support the unrelenting efforts of TCA and its transportation agency partners,” reads an excerpt from a letter Issa released earlier this month.
Over 2.5 million people use the San Onofre State Park annually, providing innumerable environmental, economic and recreational benefits to the area.
Go to www.surfrider.org to find out more or submit a letter to Issa’s office.
Dude’s First Final
National amateur champ and San Clemente local Cole Houshmand makes first WSL final
Quick tip of the cap this week to San Clemente’s Cole Houshmand, who continues to have the summer of his young life. Down in Mexico, battling it out for WSL Qualifying Series, the 16-year-old rising star made his first pro final. A regular in the amateur and pro junior events, after winning the national title this year at the USA Surfing Championships, he’s broadened his horizons. Blitzing his way through the Powerade Surf Open in Acapulco, he finished runner up to Costa Rica’s Carlos Munoz.
Cole Houshmand. Photo: Courtesy of USA Surfing/Sean Evans/Water Work Media
“I’m still pretty much in shock,” said Houshmand after the awards ceremony. “Even though I didn’t win, it still feels amazing and it’s a huge experience for me. My goal all along was to make a QS Final, and even though it’s only a QS 1,000, I couldn’t be more stoked.”
Keep ripping Cole, we’re stoked for you!