Making Waves at Venice Breakwater
L.A. County officials toss surfers from historic public surf spot
"It depends on how the day presents," the lifeguard notes. "It's hard to make a standard on the ocean, 'cause every day it's changing. If it's super out-of-control [due to crowds or ocean conditions], we have to make it safe." Yet he has trouble recalling the last time surfing was prohibited at Zuma, saying it was probably July 4 or 5.
Pressed by the Weekly to explain why surfers at Venice are blackballed, county spokesman Tripp blames the huge crowds at Venice Beach — but the crowds are no different from 2009. In fact, no county official could give the Weekly any reason to justify the consistent bans on surfing this year.
Jeff Ho, the iconic surfboard shaper and a founding father of Dogtown, who launched Zephyr Surfboards in nearby Santa Monica in the early 1970s, notes that many years ago the Breakwater "was hidden in a place that no one really went to or wanted to go to or even cared about as a surf spot. There would be a big south swell, there would be 'lefts' coming off the north side, and you'd be in the water with a couple of people.
"But now Venice is so populated. They took away the Venice Pavilion and the oil wells and you can see the ocean from the boardwalk. To control the situation, they've gone to blackballing the beach." Many surfers understand the lifeguards' concerns about safety, but argue that their response is wrong.
Ho says it would be safer for swimmers if the county banned them from the Breakwater. "There are currents out [at the rocks] and there's a rip that will pull you out. And when you have tourists that aren't familiar with the ocean, they're going to have to somehow police that."
Surfers' skills are better suited to the area, he and others say. "Put the swimmers down the beach somewhere else. The Breakwater should be a designated surfing area."
But instead, surfer Greg Falk says, "The lifeguards currently encourage surfers to surf the north side of the Breakwater," where the surfing isn't as good but surfers create a human buffer that keeps swimmers away from hazardous rocks and currents.
In essence, both men say the county is doing the opposite of what it does at Zuma. Says Falk, "The Breakwater is a natural resource ... at its highest and best use when utilized by surfers."
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