I had been surfing for about a year when my sister’s boyfriend, Larry, offered to take me to San Onofre. San Onofre was open only to military dependents, which Larry was, and members of the then-exclusive San Onofre Surf Club.
When we arrived, I found the surf to my liking, small and gentle, and a far cry from the thumping Orange and LA County beach breaks I had become accustomed to. The waves were easy to catch and easy to ride, and to the south, men in their 40s and 50s rode them at a break named “Old Man’s” in their honor. Some of the men rode balsawood surfboards, rarely turning as they made their way shoreward.
I would not be introduced to these guys for another 30 years and now I realize they were the legendary surfers of the ’30s and ’40s. Names like Loren “Whitey” Harrison, “Burhead,” and Dr. Dorian Paskowitz, who along with his wife, Juliette, would raise 11 kids in a motor home, ruled the point, riding tall and elegantly, while I jerkily attempted turning my 30-pound Wardy.
Over the years I met Whitey and Dorian and heard tales of the waves and the surfers who became legendary riding them. Originally, Terry “Tubesteak” Tracy had carved out his initials on the waves he rode while ruling the beach with his unique brand of Aloha. As late as the early 2000s, some of the original surfers there still played guitars and ukuleles on the beach.
At the request of Surfer’s Journal publisher, Steve Pezman, I brought guitar legends Sam and Andy Powers to San Onofre to play a few tunes with those who had planted themselves there for half a century and had formed an informal band called “Bamboo Boom.” The old-timers were impressed with Sam and Andy’s playing, perhaps more so when they found these kids, who were young enough to be their great-grandkids, knew the songs they grew up with.
San Onofre is now open to the public and those who show up there find its gentle waves accommodating to the very young, the very old, and some of our state’s top longboarders. This is a state park with lines of people waiting for a parking spot that will soon be traded for a spot beneath the palapa, or the lineup.
My experience is that the waves of San Onofre are best on south to southwest swells. The waves are far more crowded now than when I first surfed there in the early ’60s, but the crowd is generally as open and welcoming as ever.
Legendary surfers like Don Craig, Mickey “Mongoose” Munoz, Steve Boehne, and his lifelong tandem partner (and wife) Barrie can be seen enjoy a south swell, or lounging in the sand after a satisfying session.
To learn more about San Onofre, check out David F. Matuszak’s “San Onofre: Memories of a Legendary Surfing Beach.”
