LOS ANGELES — Lunada Bay is the stuff big wave surfers’ dreams are made of.
During a heavy swell, 20-foot waves unfurl in a perfect right-hand line, delivering a potent blend of adrenaline and serenity.
“It feels like a little hit of a drug, honestly, because it’s just so beautiful, so magical,” surfer Sofly Matturi said. “The wave is your canvas.”
When the surf’s up, only a dozen or so surfers can be found riding the wave, tucked in a cove beneath the cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Visiting Lunada Bay is like taking a time machine back to 1960, before hundreds of surfers crowded Southern California’s coastline.
RELATED: Under new ruling, California cities could be liable for local surfers’ bullying of outsiders
Many surfers say there’s a reason for that.
For six decades, a group known as the Bay Boys has sought to rule the waves here, slashing the tires of nonlocals, pelting rocks at surfers descending the steep cliffside trail and physically harassing anyone brave enough to paddle out.
1 of 3
Andre Anorga, left, Charlie May and Derek Forster, all of Palos Verdes, view Rocky Point at Lunada Bay in Palos Verdes Estates. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
The Bay Boys’ reign has sparked years of controversy and emerged as a flash point for beach access in the upscale community of Palos Verdes Estates, culminating with a landmark lawsuit demanding the city do more to protect surfers from harassment.
The city agreed to settle the suit last month with a promise to protect public access to Lunada Bay. Additionally, 11 alleged surf gang members agreed to either pay steep fines or stay away from the break for a year.
But some surfers are skeptical the settlement alone will change the vibes.
Matturi, who lives in Long Beach, reports facing intimidation and harassment whenever he paddles out. During a swell in April, another surfer tried to push him off his board mid-ride, yelling, “Get out, you’re not supposed to be surfing here,” he said.
Several other surfers, some of whom spoke to The Times anonymously, said they had also faced harassment.
When attorneys for the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in 2016, they identified at least 85 people — core gang members, friends, family — who were “allowed” to surf the bay.
John MacHarg, a born-and-raised Palos Verdes Estates surfer, said the settlement by itself would not put a stop to localism — the belief that local surfers own the break.
“I think [the Bay Boys] still feel like, ‘Oh, we’re protecting this sacred place,’” MacHarg said. “They don’t realize that the more sacred it is, the more of a sin it is to do their so-called protecting.”
Denial of responsibility! Todays Chronic is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – todayschronic.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
