Editor’s Note: The views expressed below do not reflect the opinions of The Inertia and its staff. Any and every trip to the beach should be a peaceful, enjoyable experience.
Through violence, intimidation, and with the de facto blessing of the local police, the Lunada Bay locals have worked a miracle. They created for themselves a world where they can travel as they please, free to enjoy any wave, anywhere they want, while denying the world access to their own.
Before the apologists chime in and cry, “But you’ll ruin the spot. They’re just trying to protect a beautiful resource,” think on this: Lunada is a fickle wave, and only breaks a handful of times each year. The same sociopath who’s tossing rocks at your head as you climb down the cliff is surfing your local break most of the time. He’s paddling out in Torrance, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach. He’s taking road trips to Baja, flying to Oahu in the Winter. He’s joining the pack at Lowers, and snagging sets in Huntington Beach.
Monday, January 20th, Lunada opens for the public. Surfers, bodyboarders, SUP dudes, kayakers, and kneeboarders along the California coast are free to enjoy the ocean.
Most importantly, have fun and be peaceful. This is all in the spirit of enjoyment of the ocean. Bring the wife and kids, pack a lunch, and enjoy a fun session followed by a cliff top picnic.
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From the staff:
Last week, we published this piece (originally posted on Reddit), which encouraged folks to surf Lunada Bay, a notoriously localized spot. Like the vast majority of articles published on the site, it was a voluntary contribution about an issue a writer feels passionately about. We encourage a diversity of opinions, and some of those can be divisive. That’s nothing new here. With so many contributors and opinions, we’ve grown accustomed to dealing with controversy and conflicting view points.
That said, the manner in which this message was originally delivered was exceptionally incendiary and intent on creating animosity in the local surf community, and, after more careful review, the tone has since been edited to reflect a more respectful attitude. Posts intended to inspire aggression, ill will, or worse, violence, will not be condoned.
We don’t condone localism. We also don’t support an intentionally disruptive mass migration to a place that has been historically unwelcoming. If that’s your prerogative, then so be it. It’s unfortunate that any location can acquire a reputation for being unfriendly, but we don’t encourage our readers to actively pursue potentially volatile situations. We want our readers safe and happy. And getting barreled. That’s our prerogative.
This silly business of wave riding is, after all, a recreational leisure. It should always be fun more than anything else. Conflicting perspectives can be a good thing when shared in the spirit of goodwill, curiosity, community, and respect. Those are values we stand behind, and those are the principles we hope to share with the most important folks we have the pleasure of engaging with: you.
Please be safe, be peaceful, and enjoy the swell.
